• Florida: Boar's Head, a deli meat company, is recalling 7 million pounds of ready-to-eat products as an outbreak of listeria food poisoning continues to spread. The recall includes 71 products made between May 10 and July 29 and follows an earlier recall of over 200,000 pounds of deli products. The recall is associated with an ongoing listeria outbreak that has sickened 34 people across 13 states, including 33 hospitalizations, and caused two deaths. Currently, CDC, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, and state public health partners are investigating the outbreak. "Out of an abundance of caution, we decided to immediately and voluntarily expand our recall to include all items produced at the Jarratt facility," Boar's Head said. "No words can fully express our sympathies and the sincere and deep hurt we feel for the families that have suffered losses and others who endured illness." Consumers who purchased the recalled products are recommended to throw them away or return them to the store. They should also clean their refrigerators since listeria can grow in cold temperatures and spread to other foods. (Lenthang/Bendix, NBC News, 7/31; Associated Press/NPR, 7/31)
• Maryland: CMS last week released several final payment rules for fiscal year (FY) 2025, including for hospice providers, IRFs, IPFs, and SNFs. In the final rule for hospice providers, CMS will increase Medicare reimbursements by 2.9% in FY 2025, which is higher than the 2.6% originally proposed in March. The rule also finalizes changes to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program. Under the IRF final rule, CMS will increase payment rates by 3%, or $280 million, in FY 2025. Similarly, IPFs will see a 2.8% payment rate increase in FY 2025. Compared to FY 2024, total estimated IPF payments are expected to increase by 2.5%, or $65 million. Finally, the final rule for SNFs increases Medicare payment rates by 4.2% in FY 2025, higher than the 4.1% rate increase originally proposed in March. The final rule also includes policies to strengthen enforcement of nursing home health and safety violations. Under the rule, both CMS and state regulators can concurrently fine an organization on per instance and per day bases for the same violations. (Young, Modern Healthcare, 7/30; CMS IRF fact sheet, 7/31; CMS IPF fact sheet, 7/31; Eastabrook, Modern Healthcare, 7/31)
• Texas: Two top officials at Cassava Sciences have resigned after years of controversy over a proposed Alzheimer's drug. In June, Hoau-Yan Wang, a neuroscientist at the City College of New York, was charged with fraud for allegedly falsifying data to obtain NIH research grants. In collaboration with Lindsey Burns, Cassava's chief scientist, Wang published research studies that supported the company's Alzheimer's candidate simufilam. Currently, simufilam is in advanced trials, but more than five of Wang's studies have either been retracted or questioned by scientific journals. The Securities and Exchange Commission is also investigating the company and two senior employees. Burns, as well as her husband Remi Barbier, the company's chair and CEO, have announced their resignations from the company. Richard Barry, who replaced Barbier as Cassava's chair, said the board was committed to testing its Alzheimer's drug in patients with "transparency, accountability and highest ethical business practices." (Rosenbluth, New York Times, 7/18)

This resources includes a summary of CMS regulation and payment policies, an analysis of hospice market trends by the numbers, and best practices hospices have used to tackle common challenges. Download now to  discover key insights on the hospice industry and strategies to propel your hospice program's growth.