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.