was established in January 2000 by the Summit Business Group, LLC to assist
hospices in their efforts to develop and maintain effective corporate compliance
programs. Summit itself was established in 1998 by its Founder and Principal,
Jay Mahoney, former CEO of the National Hospice Organization (now NHPCO) for 14 years.
HCN promotes the establishment of comprehensive compliance programs based on ethical business
practices that prevent fraud and abusive behavior, but not at the cost of limiting
appropriate access to hospice care. By providing the compliance information hospices
need and a support system for compliance officers the Hospice Compliance Network hopes
to promote an environment of regulatory compliance and quality hospice care.
HCN is a membership organization; however, we view the organization as a complement to
national and state trade associations, not as a competitor. Indeed, in addition to
his role as the former NHPCO CEO, Jay serves as an Honorary Trustee of the National
Hospice Foundation and currently serves on various national and state regulatory committees.
He has been a regular speaker at national and state conferences. We would also draw your
attention to our state affinity programs.
HCN focuses on compliance issues and supporting compliance officers and to that end we've
listened closely to our members since the inception of the Network. The ability to listen
has led us to continually improve our services and to seek out ways to increase the value of
membership.
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- Published bi-monthly and distributed electronically
- Focuses primarily on regulatory compliance including the hospice benefit,
HIPAA compliance, and other related compliance issues that have meaning
for hospices
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- Exclusively for HCN members
- Allows HCN members to share questions and ideas on how to meet the day to day challenges of compliance
- Provides a mechanism for members to share forms, policies and procedures
- Archives of all prior postings are accessible to members through the password protected web site
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- Email on issues of immediate importance and interest between editions of the Hospice Compliance Letter
- Hyperlinks to various publications, reports, etc.
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- Password protected web site available only to HCN members
- Current and archived editions of the Hospice Compliance Letter are available on the web site
- Links to other compliance related sites
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- A toll free number that each HCN member can use as its own internal reporting hotline
- Provides compliance with the OIG’s guidance suggesting the availability of a confidential internal “hotline” to enable employees, volunteers and others to report concerns related to fraud and abuse
- Available to HCN members for a modest additional cost
- Staffed by hospice trained personnel
- Provides anonymity and confidentiality for the caller
- HCN provides materials necessary to promote the availability of the hotline service to staff and volunteers
- In the event of a call to the Guidance Line, HCN will contact the hospice’s compliance officer in writing
- Provides quarterly reports
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- Provided by Jay Mahoney and the Summit Business Group, HCN can provide economical, value laden consulting services including developing a comprehensive corporate compliance program, baseline audits and ongoing reviews
- For an additional list of consulting services available from Summit Business Group, LLC please visit the Summit web site at www.SBG-LLC.com
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- Annual membership in the Hospice Compliance Network is limited to individual
hospice programs.
Base membership for a single provider number is $150.00 annually.
The Hospice Guidance Line service can be added to a base membership for
an additional $100.00 annually.
Hospices with multiple sites/provider numbers may purchase base memberships
for those sites for $25.00 per additional provider number.
Hospices with additional provider numbers may also purchase the Hospice
Guidance Line (fraud hotline) service for an additional $75.00 per
additional provider number, which includes the additional base membership
plus the Guidance Line service.
The Hospice Guidance Line service is only available with a base membership.
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Member hospices and additional sites are permitted to reproduce or forward
the newsletter as they wish for the internal use of each site.
Each hospice site may also share the password of the web site for internal
use as well as register as many staff as they wish to use the Listserv.
- Individual personal memberships are available for $150.00 annually; however, personal memberships may not upgrade to include the Guidance Line nor can additional sites be added to the membership.
Communications from the Network are considered a benefit of membership; sharing any form of communication from the Network outside of the member hospice program is strictly forbidden.
