CMS Halts Hospice Special Focus Program for Evaluation

WASHINGTON—Hospice leaders praised the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) decision to cease the implementation of the Hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). CMS announced on February 14 on its website that implementation of the program had ceased for calendar year 2025 “so that CMS may further evaluate the program.” No additional details were provided.

“This decision is a positive move acknowledging that the current approach is not working as intended,” the National Alliance for Care at Home said in a statement. “The hospice community has long advocated for strong oversight and patient protections, but the SFP, as implemented, was deeply flawed, unlawful, and harmful to the very patients it was meant to protect.”

A group of hospices and state and regional hospice associations sued CMS in January over the program, saying it used misleading or inaccurate data that failed to distinguish fraudulent and quality providers and overly penalized well-established hospices.

“We welcome this in direction and look forward to working with CMS, lawmakers, and stakeholders to develop a fair and effective oversight process that ensures accountability without jeopardizing access to care,” the Alliance continued. “Patients and families deserve an evidence-based regulatory framework focused on real problem areas.”

“We wholly support the creation of a special focus program, in both spirit and intent–a point we have emphasized repeatedly since the passage of the Hospice ACT of 2020, which authorized the SFP’s creation,” said Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO of LeadingAge. “For a SFP to succeed, good execution is critical; on this, CMS has failed miserably.”