Michael Doring Connelly

Aligning Hospice Payment and Benefit Design with Patient Need Executive Summary This proposal advances three integrated reforms: (1) replace the six-month prognostic eligibility requirement with diagnosis of terminal illness; (2) integrate hospice fully into the Medicare benefit; and (3) transition reimbursement to a guardrailed, reasonable cost-based model. These reforms are supported by extensive evidence that hospice reduces Medicare spending while improving care, but also

America’s healthcare crisis is not caused by one bad policy or one failing program. The system is breaking because it is built on incentives that undermine affordability, coordination, and quality. When you look across the major failures — rising costs, fragmented care, clinician burnout, unnecessary utilization, fraud, and overwhelming administrative burden — a single pattern emerges: these are symptoms of a fundamental design flaw. Affordability Is the Breaking Point ACA pr

The latest KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey shows the average U.S. family premium has soared past $27,000 a year. That’s the cost of a new car—just to stay insured. The recent government shutdown over ACA subsidies misses the real issue. Americans across the board—whether covered by ACA, Medicare, or employer plans—can no longer afford healthcare. The crisis isn’t who pays the bill; it’s why the bill is so high. We know the causes: • Overtreatment and waste. • Fragmente

“Hospices owned by private equity firms yield higher profit margins and spend fewer dollars on direct patient care," a new study in Health Affairs found. For the study, researchers examined revenue and expense data among providers using four types of ownership models: PE-backed, publicly traded companies, other for-profit entities, and nonprofits. PE-owned agencies reported the highest profits and lowest spending on patient care. "Our findings suggest that PE-owned hospice