Hospice, Palliative Care

To improve Medicare provider and supplier enrollment data transparency, in 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services publicly released detailed ownership data, including data on change of ownership transactions, for Medicare-enrolled hospices. This brief presents a descriptive analysis of hospice agency changes of ownership nationally between 2018 and 2022.

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, is a neurocognitive disease affecting an individual’s cognitive function and behavior. Dementia is a leading cause of death and is particularly prevalent at the end of life (EOL) in older adults.

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders, is a neurocognitive disease affecting an individual’s cognitive function and behavior. Dementia is a leading cause of death and is particularly prevalent at the end of life (EOL) in older adults.

Between 2005 and 2015, the number of hospice agencies with common ownership to nursing homes nearly quintupled in number and now represents almost 1-in-5 hospice agencies participating in the Medicare program.

This study examines hospice ownership in detail by going beyond the general distinction of for-profit or not-for-profit and considers the extent to which regional or national chains have entered the hospice provider market and how the populations they care for and the services they provide might be distinct from other types of hospice agencies.

U.S. Department of Health and Human ServicesOffice of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and EvaluationAugust 2008PDF Version: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2008/ADCongRpt.pdf (302 PDF pages)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services October 2007 PDF Version: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2007/adacp.pdf (25 PDF pages)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services October 2007 PDF Version: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/reports/2007/adacplpi.pdf (39 PDF pages)

Susan C. Miller, Pedro Gozalo and Vincent Mor Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University This report was prepared under contract #100-97-0010 between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy (DALTCP) and the Urban Institute.