A coalition of hospice providers has filed a lawsuit against HHS in an effort to block the hospice Special Focus Program (SFP). The SFP targets select agencies in the bottom 10% of poor-performing hospices in the nation through increased survey oversight and possible removal from the Medicare program if deficiencies go unaddressed. 
 
On Jan. 16, several organizations — including a nonprofit hospice provider and four state associations — filed a complaint with the U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Texas and requested that the court grant a preliminary injunction to stop CMS’ implementation of the SFP. The plaintiffs allege that the SFP is a flawed, ineffective and unlawful approach to hospice reform that could have adverse impacts on both providers and patients.  
 
CMS released its list of the first 50 hospices required to participate in the SFP on Dec. 20. CMS had planned to publish a broader list of low-performing hospices that could be future candidates for the program. While CMS didn’t release the low-performing list, it did provide the underlying data used to inform both lists. The plaintiffs have asked that CMS withdraw the SFP final rule for further revisions, as well as the published list and underlying data.