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-ranging conversation covers alternative payment models, the importance of scale, the role of data analytics, and how to stay motivated in today’s regulatory environment.

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 their thoughts on what the updated F2F attestation rules mean for hospice operators and weigh in on other components of the final rule, including CMS’s attempt at housekeeping by clarifying the types of hospice physicians who can certify patients.

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 is, when it has been used, and whether the recent settlement could signal a resurgence of these types of cases.

Increasing audit activity combined with certain decreasingly favorable audit appeal outcomes has resulted in hospices appealing audit results beyond the administrative law judge phase and into federal court. In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Bryan Nowicki discuss the circumstances that gave rise to hospices taking their cases to federal court, how those cases are playing out, and what the future looks like.

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 Meg explore what AI is good at as well as its limits and why scheduling optimization, compliance, and reimbursement were the first areas Vitalis tackled. Dina shares her thoughts on what may be next for AI in the home care space, the hurdles she sees to adoption and change, and the opportunities for technology to enhance care, boost staff engagement, and give us all more time to do the work that is most meaningful.

Vitalis was built to solve the challenges hospices face every day — from missed units and clunky schedules to mileage fraud, billing gaps, and compliance headaches. Their tools help hospices predict end-of-life with improved accuracy; generate efficient, patient-centered schedules; track every mile with GPS-backed clarity; and simplify compliance with documentation support. To learn more about Vitalis Care visit their website at https://vitaliscare.ai/.

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 statements to try to avoid them.

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 may be impacted. Importantly, Jonathan shares takeaways on what hospices and their boards should do to stay vigilant.

Additional resources:

05.12.2025 DOJ Memorandum: Focus, Fairness, and Efficiency in the Fight Against White-Collar Crime

Hospice audits can have profound financial implications, particularly when the auditors use statistical extrapolation to identify an overpayment amount. The use of extrapolation runs across auditor types, including UPICs and the OIG, and can apply to Medicare and Medicaid. 

In this episode, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske, Bryan Nowicki, and Emily Solum discuss recent experiences and successes in dealing with statistical extrapolations, as well as what the future of extrapolation looks like.

Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske is joined by colleague Kathleen Snyder, who has extensive experience in digital health and has been busy advising health care providers on how to safely implement artificial intelligence (AI) tools in their organizations. With AI holding so much promise for helping hospices gain efficiencies, reduce staff burdens, and improve the patient experience, we all need to jump into the future—but do so thoughtfully. This episode will help you with just that. We explore critical do’s and don’ts for AI and key infrastructure hospices should have in place when implementing any type of AI solution. Happy listening!

For hospices, unprecedented competition, enhanced oversight, and looming payment reform create business obstacles or growth opportunities, depending on your outlook. Your growth strategy shouldn’t be the same as your neighbor’s. Instead of following the herd, Husch Blackwell’s Meg Pekarske and Bryan Nowicki explore how to begin thinking about what should be on your strategic plan and the importance of bringing your board along with you.

Additional resources:

Hospice Past v. Present – Considerations