Archive for Local News
Federal Court Suspends Cap Demand
Posted by: | CommentsOn Monday, July 13, in Federal Court in Los Angeles, NAHA member LA Haven Hospice won its legal challenge to the validity of HHS’ hospice cap regulation. In a detailed written opinion, posted on this web site, the Federal judge held that the cap calculation regulation is invalid because HHS failed to follow Congress’ mandate to allocate each patient’s cap allowance across years of service. The opinion makes for good reading. Although proceedings are ongoing, the court immediately suspended LA Haven Hospice’s 2006 cap repayment obligations ($2.3 million). Read More→
Hospice Cap Demands “cap patient care”
Posted by: | CommentsThe Clarion-Ledger, a leading Mississippi newspaper concludes that hospice cap demands “cap patient care”.
If you support hospice and hospice access for all, please forward this link to your friends, colleagues, and employees and leave your comments on the article on the Clarion-Ledger.com website.
“Hospice owners in Mississippi are complaining that a federal cap on Medicare payments is forcing them to choose between limiting patient care or going out of business.” (NB: Learn more about the hospice cap and its impact at www.hospiceaccess.org)
“Amanda Knight of Hospice Direct, a for-profit hospice that serves 22 counties in central Mississippi, said the federal government is demanding repayment of Medicare reimbursements from prior years’ care. The repayment demand is based on a formula that, in effect, caps her patient care at six months in an effort to control costs for the program.”
“Knight said the weight of Hospice Direct’s looming government debt – around $5 million at last count – has put her family’s business in jeopardy.”
Read the entire article on the Clarion-Ledger website.
Remember, while the hospice cap has hit Mississippi hospices especially hard, this is not a localized issue. As the Clarion-Ledger reports, more than 400 hospices in 30 states face demands for over $300 million in cap repayments and cap repayment demands have been doubling annually.
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