ProPublica / New Yorker Magazine Article: How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle

As anticipated in last week’s newsletter, ProPublica and the New Yorker Magazine published an article on hospice care titled: “How Hospice Became a For-Profit Hustle”.

The almost 9,000 word article, which raises awareness about fraudulent activity under the Medicare hospice benefit, specifically cites alarming spikes in the number of newly certified agencies in CA, TX, NV and AZ. Unfortunately, the article also focuses on a nonprofit/for-profit division within the hospice community and brings attention to old court cases in a manner that could promote public distrust of hospice care.

There are bad actors in hospice, but they are small in number and need to be rooted out through state and national oversight bodies that have the tools to do it. In an effort to help bring attention to all the good being done by hospice, NHPCO has shared the attached talking points, which should help respond to any inquiries you may receive based on the New Yorker article.