Hospice Insights: The Law and Beyond

Hospice providers are no strangers to sensitive patient situations, but a subpoena or other third-party request for patient records can quickly raise complex legal and compliance challenges. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Bryan Nowicki and Taylor Crossley provide a practical roadmap for navigating those requests. They discuss the HIPAA framework governing legal process disclosures, the types of demands hospice providers o...

In hospice and home health, certain compliance problems can have a big impact on the organization’s bottom line—and ability to keep operating. Even seemingly minor issues can affect whether the organization will be fully paid for services it provided, subject to financial penalties, or even barred from participating in a payment program. To help home health agencies and hospices spot and prevent these problems, Husch Bl...

Hospice providers remain under heavy scrutiny, with prepayment audit and other audit activity on the rise. Unified Program Integrity Contractors (UPICs) historically conducted post-payment reviews. However, over the last six months, they have joined Medicare Administrative Contractors in reviewing claims on a prepayment basis. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Bryan Nowicki and Zaina Niles discuss this new type of UPIC audit...

Since September 2024, CMS’s Medicare Administrative Contractors have been conducting expanded prepayment reviews (also known as “EPRs” or targeted high-risk reviews) of existing hospice providers in Arizona, California, Nevada, and Texas. As of December 2025, hospices in Georgia and Ohio are also under the microscope. In this episode, Husch Blackwell attorneys Bryan Nowicki and Zaina Niles discuss how hospices can...

Welcome to a very special podcast! It’s special for many reasons. First, as a longtime admirer of Mettle Health’s visionary work supporting people through change and loss, Meg Pekarske was elated when co-founder Sonya Dolan and counselor Bridget Sumser said yes to being on the podcast. Second, a discussion of how we face endings seems fitting for Meg’s last episode as host of the Hospice Insights podcast. 

End...

A common referral scenario involves hospital clinicians referring a dying patient to hospice. This circumstance gives rise to questions relating to hospice eligibility, the appropriate level of hospice care, and the expectation of the patient and the hospital. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Bryan Nowicki address these questions and provide insights into effectively managing this situation.

Additional resou...

Many hospices established their single entity corporate structure 40+ years ago and have left it largely untouched. But this too is worth a dust off especially as hospices are expanding into new geographies, new service lines, and affiliating with additional organizations. When done thoughtfully, an expanded corporate organizational chart does not need to cause painful complexity and administrative burdens. In fact, it may allow yo...

The world of Medicare enrollment and the 855 may seem like a tangle of boring paperwork, but all that i-dotting and t-crossing is critical for avoiding Medicare deactivation and other unpleasant consequences. In this episode, Husch Blackwell attorneys Meg Pekarske and Andrew Brenton discuss the most common mistakes they see providers make related to the 855. You’ll learn which key individuals you should be sure to include on ...

You know those conversations that leave you feeling excited, hopeful, and ready to change the world? This is one of those conversations. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske is joined by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellow Dr. Bethany Snider. Dr. Snider shares how she developed a palliative care program that meets the needs of patients, payors, and her organization at-large. Their wide-rangin...

CMS’s FY 2026 hospice final rule introduces significant changes to the face-to-face (F2F) attestation requirements starting October 1, 2025. All in all, the news is positive: while there is a new requirement for the F2F attestation to be signed and dated, the signed and dated F2F clinical note on its own can now serve as the F2F attestation. 

In this episode, Husch Blackwell attorneys Meg Pekarske and Andrew Brenton share...

Substandard quality care is the subject of survey citations and lawsuits, but it has also been used by the Justice Department to support false claim liability. While historically these cases were rare, a recent multi-million dollar settlement puts “worthless services” on the radar. Join Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Jonathan Porter as they explore what the “worthless services” theory of liability ...

Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske is joined by Dina Yankelewitz, CEO of Vitalis Care, a technology company that is harnessing AI technology to reduce staff burden and allow more time for patient care. Dina shares her vision and passion for the hospice space, discussing how she applied her background in education and learning methods to inform not only what tools to develop but importantly how they work for the end user. Dina and...

In an audit, election statement deficiencies can be costly. Auditors deny all claims covered by the problematic election statement, and those costs can multiply if more than one patient was affected. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske, Bryan Nowicki, and Josi Wergin discuss common reasons auditors give for denying claims based on election statement deficiencies, and how hospices can improve their election stateme...

On May 12, 2025, the Head of the Criminal Division for the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum outlining its enforcement priorities. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Jonathan Porter break down what is new and not so new in DOJ’s announcement. They explore the memorandum’s revisions to the Voluntary Self-Disclosure Policy, its treatment on individual liability, and how whistleblowers ...