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A Ventura County, California, physician has been sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for Medicare fraud for medically unnecessary hospice services. Dr. Victor Contreras worked for two hospices in Pasadena California Arcadia Hospice Provider Inc., The post California Physician Sentenced to 24 Months for $3.2M
Petros Fichidzhyan pleaded guilty to charges of health care fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering in connection with the Medicare fraud case involving multiple California-based hospice and home health companies. The post Man Pleads Guilty to $17M California Hospice Fraud Scheme appeared first on Hospice News.
A California-based physician is suing the U.S. Shaarawy provides internal and family medicine, palliative care and hospice services and operates a private practice in Canoga Park, California. The nonprofit contracted with CMS to act as the fiscal intermediary for the state of California. court documents stated.
Stymied Medicaid reimbursement for nursing home room and board could threaten access to care for hospice patients in California and possibly other states. Medi-Cal, Californias Medicaid program, is among the states that shifted management of its safety net health coverage to health plans.
The California-based hospice provider YoloCares has recently received nearly $1.14 Branded as Joshua’s House, the funds were approved by local board officials in Sacramento County, California, and will support the site’s construction. million in funding to launch a new residential hospice shelter for homeless populations.
California Gov. Assembly Bill 2673 extends California’s moratorium on new hospice provider licenses, which now will remain effective until the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) sets emergency regulations. The ongoing statewide audit in California may ultimately lead to more reforms.
Palliative care has become a more sought-after treatment plan in recent years, and one agency in California has led the charge in advancing palliative care support among its population. Today, the Partnership HealthPlan of California serves nearly 950,000 clients across 24 counties statewide.
Hospice of the Foothills of Nevada County has joined the California Hospice Network, a regional collaborative of nonprofit providers. Hospice of the Foothills launched in 1979 to serve two California counties as an all-volunteer organization and now cares for more than 500 patients and families annually.
A California hospice owner and a freelance marketer have been convicted of Medicare fraud, totalling $3.2 Nita Palma of Glendale, California, in 2025 purchased Magnolia Gardens Hospice through her daughter and concealed her ownership from Medicare, according to the U.S. These included Percy Abrams or Lakewood, California.
She also serves as associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s (UCSF) Institute for Health Policy Studies Mount Sinai Health System. “No This compared to an overall 20% of live discharge rates among patients of for-profit hospices. Hunt is a nurse practitioner and health services researcher.
Nevada is among the four hotbed states seeing escalating program integrity issues in recent years, joined by Arizona, California and Texas. The practice appears to stem from a rash of newly licensed hospices that have emerged in Nevada, Arizona, California and Texas.
Case in point, the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation’s Medical Facility (CMF) in July unveiled a new palliative spiritual care training model. Efforts are ramping up to improve end-of-life outcomes among prison populations, including other volunteer-based hospice and palliative care programs.
A hospice physician in California is facing up to a decade in prison after pleading guilty for their involvement in a kickback fraud scheme that bilked Medicare of nearly $30 million. Department of Justice Attorney’s Office in the Central District of California indicated in a statement. and Arcadia Hospice Provider Inc.
Recently proposed legislation in California may raise minimum wages to $25 per hour among health care workers in the state. Currently, the minimum wage in California is $15 per hour across all industries for organizations with 26 or more employees. The health care sector in California must offer higher wages to remain competitive.”
The second driving force was the emergence of fraudulent actors in the space in relatively large numbers, particularly concentrated in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. Enhanced oversight Also, this year, CMS expanded its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.
The California-based hospice provider in October 2024 received nearly $1.14 The location is set to open in late spring or summer of 2025 and will feature a 15-bed, five-cottage facility in South Natomas, California. million in philanthropic funding to launch the shelter.
Virtual palliative care delivery allowed caregivers more time for respite breaks and reprieve, easing transportation challenges associated with in-person visits, said researcher Dr. Lynn Flint, outpatient palliative care physician and clinical professor at University of California San Franciscos (UCSF) division of geriatrics.
Death anxiety can manifest in various ways depending on a persons lived experiences, according to Dr. Danielle Chammas, psychiatrist and palliative care physician at University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Health.
A large issue preventing stronger collaborations is a lack of clearly defined patient eligibility criteria for palliative care delivery, according to Dr. Danielle Chammas, palliative care physician and psychiatrist at University California, San Franciscos (UCSF) School of Medicine.
Resident physicians at California-based Kaiser Permanente have recently negotiated a new agreement that includes compensation increases and expanded mental health and wellness employee benefits. The biggest benefit of this deal is recognizing that without advocating for providers and ensuring theyre protected, were harming our patients.
Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D-California) have introduced the Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act , which is designed to improve the SFP selection process as well as transparency around the program. It’s not what they envisioned when this law was written.”
Fraud’s future costs Bad operators are reaping the benefits of providing poor and negligent care to patients while creating an unstable payment environment for legitimate providers, according to Sheila Clark, president and CEO of the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association (CHAPCA).
The agreement includes Hospice of East Bay and Hospice of Santa Cruz County in California, as well as Nathan Adelson Hospice in Las Vegas and Willamette Vital Health in Oregon. Four nonprofit hospices have affiliated with Chapters Health System, expanding the Florida-based hospice and senior services provider to three new states.
Eden Health is a 100% employee-owned company operating in Washington state, Nevada, California, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and Arizona. More than 16,000 people elected the hospice benefit in 2022, about 46% of the state’s Medicare decedents that year, according to the National Alliance for Care at Home.
Each partner site will receive $15,000 to support the 10-week program implementation and continuous consultation, along with 20 hours of facilitator training for as many as 24 grief professionals.
These actions were spurred by a rash of fraudulent hospices that have emerged primarily in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. The memo directs surveyors to refer issues to CMS if they suspect fraudulent activity.
The most pressing issue facing hospice leaders is fueling a sufficient supply of qualified staff to meet a diverse range of end-of-life care needs among patients and families, according to Robert Love, executive director of California-based Butte Home Health & Hospice.
Other inpatient pediatric facilities include California-based George Mark Childrens House, Minnesota-based Crescent Cove and LadyBug House in Seattle, Washington. Ryan House is among the few facilities that exist in the United States specifically focusing on pediatric populations.
According to 2022 data from the University of Southern California, average turnover rates throughout the health care continuum hover around 27% for registered nurses and 35.5% Chapters is one of the largest nonprofit hospice providers in the United States. Currently the company has achieved a turnover rate of 12% for nurses and 10% for CNAs.
The waivers have allowed for reconciliation with the new normal of realities in health care delivery, according to Dr. Michael Fratkin, a California-based palliative care physician and board president of the Institute for Rural Psychedelic Care. The temporary telemedicine regulations allowed for virtual exceptions to this in-person rule.
Beth Van Duyne (R-Texas) and Jimmy Panetta (D-California) have introduced a bill that would reform aspects of the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). If enacted, the Enhancing Hospice Oversight and Transparency Act also would increase the penalty for hospices that do not report quality measure data to 10% by 2027, up from 4% currently.
Regulatory oversight in the hospice industry has ramped up amid fraudulent activity, specifically instances occurring in four hotbed states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. The regulatory trends may create mounting pressure on interdisciplinary hospice teams, according to Mayo. “We
The California-based hospice provider YoloCares is adding an Enhanced Care Management (ECM) program to its portfolio of services, which aims to address patients’ social determinants of health and related needs. YoloCares in May became credentialed as an ECM site by Partnership Health Plan of California, a Medicaid health plan.
A slew of fraudulent hospices in California are dodging consequences by shuffling patients around between provider numbers. CMS has also implemented a “period of enhanced oversight” for new hospices in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas — states that have emerged as hotbeds for hospice fraud.
A more recent and significant factor came with program integrity concerns heating up in four particular hotbed states: Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas. Among the factors is CMS resumed auditing activity after the agency stalled regulatory enforcement processes during the pandemic.
But any rules should include clear federal standards for this research as far as what is and is not allowed, according to Jennifer Moore Ballentine, CEO of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California. Several other states are considering similar legislation , including California, New York and Washington. and San Francisco.
Branded as Providence at Home with Compassus, the JV includes 17 hospice and palliative care locations in Alaska, California, Oregon, Texas and Washington state. The deal includes 24 of Providences home health locations in four states as well as private duty services in southern California.
The California-based nonprofit emphasizes how its hospice program improves quality of life, Wingard stated. Median length of stay rates reached 18 days during that time frame, the MedPAC report found. Hospice is about much more than assisting patients and families through the dying process, according By the Bay Health CEO Skelly Wingard.
Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona. Thus far, California is the only state to take action on the issue, including a moratorium on hospice licensing.
Pediatric patients often experience burdensome care transitions as they reach adulthood, according to Dr. Daniel Karlin, associate clinical professor University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine. Karlin is also palliative care medical director at UCLA Healths Palliative Care Program.
California-based Hospice of the Foothills unveiled a rebranding strategy aimed at better communicating its expanded suite of services. Established in 1979, the nonprofit serves more than 500 patients and their families annually across western Nevada County, California, and surrounding communities.
As hospice program integrity remains in the spotlight, California remains the only state to take action on curbing the problem. Beginning in 2021, numerous reports emerged of unethical or illegal practices among hundreds of newly licensed hospices, particularly among new companies popping up in California, Texas, Nevada and Arizona.
The biggest challenge is understanding how cannabis laws in particular apply to pain and symptom management in end-of-life care, according to Jennifer Moore Ballentine, CEO of the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California. He is also CEO of California-based Stone Mountain Medical Associates, Inc.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is expanding its enhanced oversight for new hospices in fraud-ridden states, including California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas. CMS and the State of California have already implemented a series of new regulations designed to combat fraud, waste and abuse.
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