CMS has posted the FY2011 hospice rates and aggregate cap. NHPCO offers members two important tools.
1) FY2011 Excel spreadsheet with the FY2011 wage index and the FY2011 rates for each county in each state.
2) FY2011 rate calculator that projects the wage index values and rates through FY2019. The calculator also allows you to project a percentage growth in your hospice's census for each year.
Links to these tools are available on the Wage Index page of NHPCO's website. Here's a link to the Regulatory Alert that went out to members on July 26, 2010.
Additionally, the PDF of CR7077 is available on the CMS website.
Showing posts with label reform. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reform. Show all posts
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
A Message from Don Schumacher, June 2010
Becoming a Larger Part of the Care Continuum
My opening plenary at the Management and Leadership Conference in April touched on many issues that, as an industry, we must be keenly aware of—and address together. In the limited space I have here, I’d like to talk about one of the issues of increasing import right now. That is, finding additional ways to serve more people in our communities.
I actually raised this issue when I became NHPCO’s president/CEO in 2002. As an industry, we were far too dependent on reimbursement from the very fragile Medicare system—and we still are today. While hospice payment reform will be the ultimate catalyst for change, my hope is that all providers will begin taking steps now to assess the needs in their community and explore ways to utilize their skills to meet their broader community’s needs. This is what I mean when I speak of becoming a larger part of the ‘care continuum.’ Much of my plenary address was devoted to this issue and I truly believe it is the very crux of our future success or demise as an industry.
The diversification or expansion of our services is, of course, not a quick or easy task to undertake. It requires planning and a thoughtful business strategy. But it is doable—there are programs which are now demonstrating just how doable it is.
Some hospices are now offering adult day care and home-diversion programs, others have become PACE providers, and still others are expanding into palliative care. In some cases, these providers are partnering with other organizations and in other cases they are going it alone. So I ask that you study the work now being done; explore various reimbursement models, including community-based waiver programs; and identify and begin dialog with potential partners in your community. Our cover story this month shares the process that Pathways Hospice followed to develop its community grief center in Fort Collins, Colorado—an excellent example of how one program assessed a community need and, building on a core strength, expanded its services. Our thanks to Nancy Jakobson, director of the center, for sharing her program’s experience with us.
In the coming months, NHPCO will be providing tools and resources to help you in this process. Our specialty conference in August, “Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families” will also serve as a dynamic forum to help jumpstart discussions among providers.
I encourage every provide-member to find additional ways to become a larger part of the care continuum. If we don’t step up, others will—leaving our industry a very marginalized component of the nation’s new healthcare system.
Don
Note: Don’s monthly message appears in NewsLine; members can access this month’s and previous issues at www.nhpco.org/newsline.
My opening plenary at the Management and Leadership Conference in April touched on many issues that, as an industry, we must be keenly aware of—and address together. In the limited space I have here, I’d like to talk about one of the issues of increasing import right now. That is, finding additional ways to serve more people in our communities.
I actually raised this issue when I became NHPCO’s president/CEO in 2002. As an industry, we were far too dependent on reimbursement from the very fragile Medicare system—and we still are today. While hospice payment reform will be the ultimate catalyst for change, my hope is that all providers will begin taking steps now to assess the needs in their community and explore ways to utilize their skills to meet their broader community’s needs. This is what I mean when I speak of becoming a larger part of the ‘care continuum.’ Much of my plenary address was devoted to this issue and I truly believe it is the very crux of our future success or demise as an industry.
The diversification or expansion of our services is, of course, not a quick or easy task to undertake. It requires planning and a thoughtful business strategy. But it is doable—there are programs which are now demonstrating just how doable it is.
Some hospices are now offering adult day care and home-diversion programs, others have become PACE providers, and still others are expanding into palliative care. In some cases, these providers are partnering with other organizations and in other cases they are going it alone. So I ask that you study the work now being done; explore various reimbursement models, including community-based waiver programs; and identify and begin dialog with potential partners in your community. Our cover story this month shares the process that Pathways Hospice followed to develop its community grief center in Fort Collins, Colorado—an excellent example of how one program assessed a community need and, building on a core strength, expanded its services. Our thanks to Nancy Jakobson, director of the center, for sharing her program’s experience with us.
In the coming months, NHPCO will be providing tools and resources to help you in this process. Our specialty conference in August, “Developing the Care Continuum: Innovative Models to Meet the Unique Care Needs of Patients/Families” will also serve as a dynamic forum to help jumpstart discussions among providers.
I encourage every provide-member to find additional ways to become a larger part of the care continuum. If we don’t step up, others will—leaving our industry a very marginalized component of the nation’s new healthcare system.
Don
Note: Don’s monthly message appears in NewsLine; members can access this month’s and previous issues at www.nhpco.org/newsline.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Moran Data Project: Is your hospice participating?
The participation of all hospice providers across the country is needed for a very important project that has the potential to impact every provider in the U.S. I'm writing about the Moran Data Project.
For those not familiar with the project, last July, NHPCO retained The Moran Company (a healthcare research and consulting firm specializing in payment reform) to conduct our own data collection and assessment project on behalf of the hospice and palliative care field. This is in response to impending work on hospice reimbursement reform that is now required as a part of the new health care reform law and requires CMS to initiate hospice payment reform no earlier than 2014.
I would like to share the video message linked below:
For those unable to access the video, here is some additional information about the Moran Project.
The Moran Data Project
Through data collected and analyzed in the Moran Data Project, NHPCO will develop and present to CMS and MedPAC alternative Medicare hospice payment reform models that fairly reimburse us for the care we provide. This proactive approach allows us to exert some influence on the process rather than relying solely on government regulators and the data they can access. However, in order for our models to be sound, we must have comprehensive, patient-level data—and for that, we need the assistance of all hospice providers.
The data collection phase of this project began in February and there are now about 200 providers which are submitting data—but we need 800 more providers of all sizes, type and from all areas of the country to step up and contribute data.
By coming together to present to MedPAC and Congress comprehensive data from a unified hospice industry, we can help preserve our core values and our revenue streams. NHPCO will fight for this—but we can't do it alone. Working together to collect data, we can make our voices heard. Members can learn more online at nhpco.org/moran or contact Amanda Forys at The Moran Company at aaforys@themorancompany.com.
Thank you for your participation!
NHPCO would like to thank the software vendors who are participating in this important data collection project:
• Allscripts
• Cerner BeyondNow
• Consolo Services Group
• Delta Health Technologies
• Homecare Homebase
• McKesson Corporation
• HPMS - Mills & Murphy Software Systems, Inc.
• mumms® Software
• Suncoast Solutions
For those not familiar with the project, last July, NHPCO retained The Moran Company (a healthcare research and consulting firm specializing in payment reform) to conduct our own data collection and assessment project on behalf of the hospice and palliative care field. This is in response to impending work on hospice reimbursement reform that is now required as a part of the new health care reform law and requires CMS to initiate hospice payment reform no earlier than 2014.
I would like to share the video message linked below:
For those unable to access the video, here is some additional information about the Moran Project.
The Moran Data Project
Through data collected and analyzed in the Moran Data Project, NHPCO will develop and present to CMS and MedPAC alternative Medicare hospice payment reform models that fairly reimburse us for the care we provide. This proactive approach allows us to exert some influence on the process rather than relying solely on government regulators and the data they can access. However, in order for our models to be sound, we must have comprehensive, patient-level data—and for that, we need the assistance of all hospice providers.
The data collection phase of this project began in February and there are now about 200 providers which are submitting data—but we need 800 more providers of all sizes, type and from all areas of the country to step up and contribute data.
By coming together to present to MedPAC and Congress comprehensive data from a unified hospice industry, we can help preserve our core values and our revenue streams. NHPCO will fight for this—but we can't do it alone. Working together to collect data, we can make our voices heard. Members can learn more online at nhpco.org/moran or contact Amanda Forys at The Moran Company at aaforys@themorancompany.com.
Thank you for your participation!
**************************************************************
NHPCO would like to thank the software vendors who are participating in this important data collection project:
• Allscripts
• Cerner BeyondNow
• Consolo Services Group
• Delta Health Technologies
• Homecare Homebase
• McKesson Corporation
• HPMS - Mills & Murphy Software Systems, Inc.
• mumms® Software
• Suncoast Solutions
Friday, March 26, 2010
A Closer Look at the Health Care Reform Provisions Impacting Hospice
Earlier this week, NHPCO's Public Policy/Advocacy Team sent you an important update on the passage of the health reform legislation and next steps for the hospice community. NHPCO wants to share what we know about the various provisions impacting the hospice community. In some cases, you will see that there is not yet much information. Many of the provisions will be implemented by the Health and Human Services Secretary, and administered through the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). But, in order to do that, we believe that the first order of business for the Administration will be to appoint a CMS Administrator to delve into the details of implementation and oversight.
Visit NHPCO's Advocacy page for more information on the provisions that will be significant to hospice.
Visit NHPCO's Advocacy page for more information on the provisions that will be significant to hospice.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Health Care Reform Bill Has Moved Through Congress and Signed by President Obama
A Quick Recap
For more than a year, the hospice community has been on the edge of our collective seat, watching the political process that has consumed health care reform. First there were three bills, and then the House and Senate each settled on one version they each wanted to put forth. At the end of 2009, we were waiting to see if and when the White House would weigh in and choose a direction to pursue toward passage. At the same time, Republican leadership continually urged for a re-start of the process, from scratch. Along the way, we lost Senator Ted Kennedy, a long time health reform champion and a very good friend of the hospice community. We’ve also had multiple changes in leadership of the committees with jurisdiction over health care reform. To say that this journey has been a winding road is an understatement, but with each curve, Hospice Advocates have been very clear and unified in our messaging to Congress. During this process, we have sent Purple Folder Letters to the White House by the dozen, filled up the White House Comment Line, and contacted Congress (more than 70,000 contacts) so much that they probably recognize you by name!, Now this part of the process is drawing to a close. In the past 24 hours, Congress has moved into the final stages of this round of health care reform.
What Passed and What it Means for End-of-Life Care
Sunday night, by a vote of 219-212, the House passed H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. H.R. 3590 is actually the version of health reform that originated and passed out of the Senate last December. This version of the bill, the one that has now passed both chambers of Congress, softens the productivity cuts to hospice from a proposed $10 billion to $7.8 billion. Here’s an overview of what is in the final package relevant to end-of life care:
For more than a year, the hospice community has been on the edge of our collective seat, watching the political process that has consumed health care reform. First there were three bills, and then the House and Senate each settled on one version they each wanted to put forth. At the end of 2009, we were waiting to see if and when the White House would weigh in and choose a direction to pursue toward passage. At the same time, Republican leadership continually urged for a re-start of the process, from scratch. Along the way, we lost Senator Ted Kennedy, a long time health reform champion and a very good friend of the hospice community. We’ve also had multiple changes in leadership of the committees with jurisdiction over health care reform. To say that this journey has been a winding road is an understatement, but with each curve, Hospice Advocates have been very clear and unified in our messaging to Congress. During this process, we have sent Purple Folder Letters to the White House by the dozen, filled up the White House Comment Line, and contacted Congress (more than 70,000 contacts) so much that they probably recognize you by name!, Now this part of the process is drawing to a close. In the past 24 hours, Congress has moved into the final stages of this round of health care reform.
What Passed and What it Means for End-of-Life Care
Sunday night, by a vote of 219-212, the House passed H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. H.R. 3590 is actually the version of health reform that originated and passed out of the Senate last December. This version of the bill, the one that has now passed both chambers of Congress, softens the productivity cuts to hospice from a proposed $10 billion to $7.8 billion. Here’s an overview of what is in the final package relevant to end-of life care:
- Market Basket Cuts & Productivity - Incorporates a productivity adjustment reduction into the market basket update beginning in fiscal year 2013, as well as a market basket reduction of .3 percent for hospice providers from fiscal years 2013-2019. Note that these cuts will not take effect until FY 2013.
- Hospice Payment Reforms – (1) This provision would require the Secretary to collect data and update Medicare hospice claims forms and cost reports by 2011. (2) Based on this information, the Secretary would be required "implement revisions to the methodology for determining the payment rates for routine home care and other services included in hospice care" no earlier than FY 2013. (3) After January 1, 2011, a hospice physician or nurse practitioner must have a face-to-face encounter with each hospice patient to determine continued eligibility for hospice care prior to the 180th-day recertification and each subsequent recertification, and attest that such visit took place. In addition, the Secretary will medically review certain patients in hospices with high percentages of long-stay patients.
- Medicare Hospice Concurrent Care Demonstration Program - Directs the HHS Secretary to establish a three-year demonstration program that would allow patients who are eligible for hospice care to also receive all other Medicare covered services while receiving hospice care. The demonstration would be conducted in up to 15 hospice programs in both rural and urban areas and would undergo an independent evaluation of its impact on patient care, quality of life and spending in the Medicare program.
- Curative and Palliative Care for Children in Medicaid and CHIP - Allows children who are enrolled in either Medicaid or CHIP to receive hospice services without foregoing curative treatment related to a terminal illness.
- Independent Payment Advisory Board - Creates an independent Payment Advisory Board tasked with presenting Congress with comprehensive proposals to reduce excess cost growth and improve quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries as well as the private health system. When Medicare costs are projected to be unsustainable, the Board’s proposals will take effect unless Congress passes an alternative measure that achieves the same level of savings. Congress would be allowed to consider an alternative provision on a fast-track basis. Requires the Board to make non-binding Medicare recommendations to Congress in years in which Medicare growth is below the targeted growth rate. Beginning in 2020, requires the Board to make binding biennial recommendations to Congress if the growth in overall health spending exceeds growth in Medicare spending.
- Hospice Value Based Purchasing/Promoting High Value Health Care - Provides the Secretary of HHS the authority to test value-based purchasing programs for long-term care providers, including hospice providers, no later than January 1, 2016.
- Quality Reporting - Requires hospice to report on quality measures determined by the Secretary (endorsed by the new quality measure consensus-based entity) or face a 2 percent reduction in their market basket update. Measures published in 2012 for reporting to begin in 2014.
- Nationwide Program for National and State Background Checks on Direct Patient Access Employees of Long-term care Facilities and Providers - Establishes a national program for long- term care facilities and providers to conduct screening and criminal and other background checks on prospective direct access patient employees.
- Advancing Research and Treatment for Pain Care Management - Authorizes an Institute of Medicine Conference on Pain Care to evaluate the adequacy of pain assessment, treatment, and management; identify and address barriers to appropriate pain care; increase awareness; and report to Congress on findings and recommendations. Also authorizes the Pain Consortium at the National Institutes of Health to enhance and coordinate clinical research on pain causes and treatments. Establishes a grant program to improve health professionals’ ability to assess and appropriately treat pain.
- Education and training programs in pain care - Secretary may make grants available to hospices and others to develop and implement pain care education and training programs for health care professionals.
You may still hear talk of the reconciliation bill over the next week or two. More information on that package and the related legislative process can be found in our previous health care reform update. However, we feel confident that all of the health reform provisions that will impact hospice are contained in the package that passed yesterday and are listed above.
We’re Still Fighting
While we appreciate the fact Congress continues to embrace hospice as a vital part of health care at the end of life and we’re pleased to see the provisions included expanding access to hospice, we simply can’t afford to lose $7.8 billion from the national investment in end-of-life care.
We have said it all along; two cuts are too much for hospice. And, we mean it. The productivity cuts on top of the more than 4 percent regulatory reduction associated with the elimination of the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF) we are absorbing over the next seven years, is more than the community can or should sustain. As an aside, you, as a Hospice Advocate, working through NHPCO, were the reason the phase-in of the BNAF cuts went from the previous Administration’s plan of three years, to the current schedule of seven years. This gives the hospice community more time to plan for and manage the implementation of these unwarranted cuts.
Accordingly, with Capitol Hill Day 2009 just weeks away, NHPCO will be leading the hospice community in a measured, strategic, and phased fight to further soften the cuts before they go into effect in 2013. We’ve done what we needed to do for this phase of health reform. The hospice community was a resource to Congress during this trying past year. We were heard when we said $10 billion was too much to take from hospice and our policy makers heard us when we asked for increased access to hospice for pediatric patients and concurrent care.
NHPCO will continue to ensure that hospice is "at the table" after the political dust settles and before the community and the patients we serve feel the brunt of the cuts.
You may be asking, "Why wait until Hill Day, why does it need to be phased?" To be honest, the health care decision makers on Capitol Hill are going to be burned-out and not ready to revisit the reform legislation for a while…probably not until after the November elections. But, that’s good news for us. With Hill Day, away from all the "noise" of health care reform, we will launch an education effort to reacquaint our federal elected officials with the Medicare Hospice Benefit, who we are as a community, the patients we serve and the invaluable services that are provided by hospice in every community across the nation. A focused and consistent re-education effort is critical to a successful, phased strategy to get additional relief from the cuts.
Immediate Next Steps
Obviously, the more people we can get on Capitol Hill on April 21st, the stronger the launch of our re-education effort will be. So, visit the Hill Day 2010 Information Page for more information and to register. And for those of you who cannot join us in D.C., stay tuned for exciting opportunities to participate from home!
Most importantly, as a unified community with one voice, we need to get the facts together to show Congress what the cuts will mean to the hospice programs that serve their communities and constituents. The NHPCO Regulatory Team has been hard at work on a comprehensive, easy-to use calculator for programs to use to determine the long-term impact of the combined cuts. NHPCO members should receive an email in the coming days with a link to this interactive tool.
As always, we thank you for your Hospice Advocacy. We may not have the end-result we want yet, but your efforts have come a long way in advocating for the patients and families who depend on compassionate, high-quality end-of-life care. Please let us know if you have questions about any of this information by contacting advocacy@nhpco.org.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tune In and Tweet Tomorrow for the Health Reform Summit
Tomorrow's Health Reform Summit convened by President Obama will once again bring Health Care Reform to the political forefront and could possibly pave the path forward for the reform effort for the rest of the year. As Hospice Advocates know, the legislative effort toward national health reform has slowed significantly since the political dynamics in the Senate changed with the election of Scott Brown (R-MA).
If health reform regains momentum, the hospice community faces monumental changes in the current reform drafts passed by the House and Senate. While we can't expect the President's Summit to get into the details of how reform would impact end-of-life care, it is important that we understand where the political dynamics are driving the process and what the President and Congress put forth as guiding principles for the effort.
You can witness the bipartisan summit from your television or computer on Thursday, February 25 at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Just tune in to C-SPAN 3 or visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/live to watch Members of Congress and the President have a dialogue on health reform and see how the summit will influence the issue in the coming months. As you watch, share your thoughts with us on Twitter @hospiceaction. Your tweets help us shape our advocacy efforts here in Washington.
For more information on hospice and health reform, visit NHPCO's Health Reform Resource Center.
New to twitter? Email han@nhpco.org for help.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
If health reform regains momentum, the hospice community faces monumental changes in the current reform drafts passed by the House and Senate. While we can't expect the President's Summit to get into the details of how reform would impact end-of-life care, it is important that we understand where the political dynamics are driving the process and what the President and Congress put forth as guiding principles for the effort.
You can witness the bipartisan summit from your television or computer on Thursday, February 25 at 10 a.m. Eastern.
Just tune in to C-SPAN 3 or visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/live to watch Members of Congress and the President have a dialogue on health reform and see how the summit will influence the issue in the coming months. As you watch, share your thoughts with us on Twitter @hospiceaction. Your tweets help us shape our advocacy efforts here in Washington.
For more information on hospice and health reform, visit NHPCO's Health Reform Resource Center.
New to twitter? Email han@nhpco.org for help.
As always, thanks for your Hospice Advocacy!
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
New Facts & Figures - Concern over short stays.
NHPCO Cites Concern Over Growing Short Length of Service in New Facts and Figures on Hospice Care in the U.S.
New Report on Hospice Care in America Released as November’s National Hospice/Palliative Care Month Begins
(Alexandria, Va) – More than 35 percent (35.4) of patients served by hospices in 2008 died or were discharged in seven days or less reports the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. This reflects a 4.6 percent increase from 2007, when 30.8 percent of patients had what is considered a short hospice experience.
Patients and families receiving care for seven days or less are often unable to take full advantage of the range of benefits that the hospice interdisciplinary team provides. These benefits include psychosocial support and spiritual care for patients and their families as well as pain management and symptom control,
While the average length of service increased from 67.4 days in 2007 to 69.5 days in 2008, the jump in patients receiving care for a short time is of concern to hospice providers and NHPCO.
Only 12.1 percent of those served died or were discharged with service of 180 days or more.
These statistics are featured in the report, “NHPCO Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America,” which was released by NHPCO as the hospice and palliative care community begins to mark National Hospice/Palliative Care Month, an annual month of awareness and outreach celebrated every November.
NHPCO emphasizes the value of hospice care over the last months of a person’s life, not just the last days.
“More awareness of the care options available when facing a serious or life-limiting illness—among both the public and healthcare professionals—is still needed,” said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president and CEO.
“The advance care planning provision that has been so hotly debated in health care reform discussions could be an important mechanism for helping dying Americans avoid hospice experiences that are too short to fully help them or their family caregivers.”
Learning about options before a patient and family are faced with a health crisis is strongly recommended by NHPCO. Hospices frequently provide information to community members interested in advance care planning.
Additional information about hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning is available from NHPCO’s Caring Connections at www.caringinfo.org or by calling the HelpLine at 800-658-8898.
“NHPCO Facts and Figures: Hospice Care in America,” is available in the News Room at www.nhpco.org.
-###-
Contact:
Jon Radulovic
Vice President of Communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Friday, August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
A Message from J. Donald Schumacher
August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
As many people know, NHPCO has been working actively to clarify misinformation among national and regional media regarding health care reform legislation. An important part of our outreach has been to correctly explain the advance care planning provision and stress the value of this benefit for all Americans.
NHPCO leadership have spoken with reporters and producers with all the major network news outlets, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, as well as the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, and many others.
Some highlights include NHPCO's Kathy Brandt interview on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and Jon Keyserling’s interview on CNBC. NHPCO also provided information for the new feature that debuted on ABC Evening News with Charlie Gibson, "Fact Check," where the inaugural issue on this new segment was the misinformation about the advance care planning provision.
It's difficult to hear false and misleading statements in the media but rest assured that we are responding as effectively as possible. NHPCO offers some information that may be helpful. This includes:
• Talking Points on advance care planning and health care reform.
• NHPCO’s press release from August 7.
• NHPCO’s analysis about the advance care planning provision in the House’s bill.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections has some useful information about advance care planning that helps explain what it is, including a new piece that uses metaphor to explain the concepts:
• What is Advance Care Planning
• Healthcare Agents: Choosing One and Being One
• Preparing Your Advance Directives
• NEW - Are You Traveling without a Map? A layperson's guide to advance care planning (PDF)
There have been any number of excellent news reports, articles and op-eds that clarify the misinformation but those are often overshadowed by the conflict. Here are some links of interest that people may be interested in looking over:
• "Honest Talk About the End," Newsweek, by Eleanor Clift, 07/31/09.
• "Elderly Americans should read the health care bill: It won't kill them," Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Connie Schultz, 08/02/09.
• "Getting health care healthy: Accepting death outside the hospital," * Chicago Tribune, by Anne Moore, 08/05/09.
• "Health Care Reform: The Assault on Truth," AARP Bulletin Today, 08/14/09.
• “Here’s the truth, Granny,” Obit Magazine, by Judy Bachrach, 08/11/09.
• "Health Care: Will Section 1233 Hasten Patient Deaths?" American Center for Law & Justice (from Christianity Today), 08/11/09.
• "Three Myths about the Ethics of Health Care Reform," Association of Bioethics Program Directors.
• "Advance-directives section fueling concern and, hospice officials say, misunderstanding," Winston-Salem Journal, 08/13/09.
• “While others rant, hospice keeps helping,” Orlando Sentinel, 08/14/09.
• “Doctors Providing End-Of-Life Counseling See Benefit In Current Controversy,” Kaiser Health News, 08/14/09.
At NHPCO, we will continue to do our best to provide accurate information that we hope will help Americans understand the value of advance care planning.
The importance of patient wishes have always been integral to the hospice philosophy of care and we understand why the provision in the House bill would only serve to benefit Americans. We also understand how complicated and challenging issues surrounding death and dying are for many people. And when faced with what seems like sweeping change in health care reform discussions, it is understandable that many people are passionate—and frightened. Yet, I have faith that in the days ahead, the truth about caring for people at the end of life and the importance of advance care planning will begin to spread where there has been misinformation and false accusation.
To cite our outreach materials, hospice and palliative care are about how you live. Making one’s wishes know is an important part of life’s journey.
I encourage all hospice and palliative care providers to continue with the important work they do to help patients and families and their broad communities. I am proud to be working with such a dedicated community—all those providing hospice and palliative care.
Thank you.
J. Donald Schumacher
President and CEO
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
August 14, 2009
Misinformation, Health Care Reform, and the Media
As many people know, NHPCO has been working actively to clarify misinformation among national and regional media regarding health care reform legislation. An important part of our outreach has been to correctly explain the advance care planning provision and stress the value of this benefit for all Americans.
NHPCO leadership have spoken with reporters and producers with all the major network news outlets, ABC, NBC, CBS, and CNN, as well as the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, and many others.
Some highlights include NHPCO's Kathy Brandt interview on National Public Radio's "Morning Edition" and Jon Keyserling’s interview on CNBC. NHPCO also provided information for the new feature that debuted on ABC Evening News with Charlie Gibson, "Fact Check," where the inaugural issue on this new segment was the misinformation about the advance care planning provision.
It's difficult to hear false and misleading statements in the media but rest assured that we are responding as effectively as possible. NHPCO offers some information that may be helpful. This includes:
• Talking Points on advance care planning and health care reform.
• NHPCO’s press release from August 7.
• NHPCO’s analysis about the advance care planning provision in the House’s bill.
NHPCO’s Caring Connections has some useful information about advance care planning that helps explain what it is, including a new piece that uses metaphor to explain the concepts:
• What is Advance Care Planning
• Healthcare Agents: Choosing One and Being One
• Preparing Your Advance Directives
• NEW - Are You Traveling without a Map? A layperson's guide to advance care planning (PDF)
There have been any number of excellent news reports, articles and op-eds that clarify the misinformation but those are often overshadowed by the conflict. Here are some links of interest that people may be interested in looking over:
• "Honest Talk About the End," Newsweek, by Eleanor Clift, 07/31/09.
• "Elderly Americans should read the health care bill: It won't kill them," Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Connie Schultz, 08/02/09.
• "Getting health care healthy: Accepting death outside the hospital," * Chicago Tribune, by Anne Moore, 08/05/09.
• "Health Care Reform: The Assault on Truth," AARP Bulletin Today, 08/14/09.
• “Here’s the truth, Granny,” Obit Magazine, by Judy Bachrach, 08/11/09.
• "Health Care: Will Section 1233 Hasten Patient Deaths?" American Center for Law & Justice (from Christianity Today), 08/11/09.
• "Three Myths about the Ethics of Health Care Reform," Association of Bioethics Program Directors.
• "Advance-directives section fueling concern and, hospice officials say, misunderstanding," Winston-Salem Journal, 08/13/09.
• “While others rant, hospice keeps helping,” Orlando Sentinel, 08/14/09.
• “Doctors Providing End-Of-Life Counseling See Benefit In Current Controversy,” Kaiser Health News, 08/14/09.
At NHPCO, we will continue to do our best to provide accurate information that we hope will help Americans understand the value of advance care planning.
The importance of patient wishes have always been integral to the hospice philosophy of care and we understand why the provision in the House bill would only serve to benefit Americans. We also understand how complicated and challenging issues surrounding death and dying are for many people. And when faced with what seems like sweeping change in health care reform discussions, it is understandable that many people are passionate—and frightened. Yet, I have faith that in the days ahead, the truth about caring for people at the end of life and the importance of advance care planning will begin to spread where there has been misinformation and false accusation.
To cite our outreach materials, hospice and palliative care are about how you live. Making one’s wishes know is an important part of life’s journey.
I encourage all hospice and palliative care providers to continue with the important work they do to help patients and families and their broad communities. I am proud to be working with such a dedicated community—all those providing hospice and palliative care.
Thank you.
J. Donald Schumacher
President and CEO
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Thursday, July 23, 2009
NHPCO & Alliance to Offer Health Care Reform Phone Forum Next Week
The negotiations, progress and temporary set-backs of health care reform continue, and the hospice community has never had more on the line. Will the BNAF rate cuts be addressed in the bill? Will Congress modernize the Medicare Hospice Benefit and expand access to hospice? Could access be hindered by the health overhaul? Will we suffer more cuts to help pay for reform?
Please join NHPCO President/CEO Donald Schumacher, Vice President of Public Policy Jonathan Keyserling, and members of the Alliance for Care at the End of Life lobbying team on Wednesday, July 29 at 3pm EDT for an update and responses to your questions on the timing, substance and process of what’s to come in health care reform.
Register for the Phone Forum Here
This unprecedented opportunity is being offered at no charge for NHPCO members; however, please be considerate of this generous offer by restricting your registrations to one phone line per hospice program.
Register for the Phone Forum Here
Important Information: Registration closes at noon (EDT) on Monday, July 27. Registrants will receive the call instructions on Tuesday, July 28. CEUs will not be offered for this event. Please send any questions to advocacy@nhpco.org.
We hope you will join this important discussion!
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Please join NHPCO President/CEO Donald Schumacher, Vice President of Public Policy Jonathan Keyserling, and members of the Alliance for Care at the End of Life lobbying team on Wednesday, July 29 at 3pm EDT for an update and responses to your questions on the timing, substance and process of what’s to come in health care reform.
Register for the Phone Forum Here
This unprecedented opportunity is being offered at no charge for NHPCO members; however, please be considerate of this generous offer by restricting your registrations to one phone line per hospice program.
Register for the Phone Forum Here
Important Information: Registration closes at noon (EDT) on Monday, July 27. Registrants will receive the call instructions on Tuesday, July 28. CEUs will not be offered for this event. Please send any questions to advocacy@nhpco.org.
We hope you will join this important discussion!
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
The Latest News on Hospice & Health Care Reform
As Congress prepares to depart Washington for the July 4th District Work Period, health care reform activities refuse to wind down. Higher than expected cost estimates by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) sent Washington into a flurry of activity over the past few weeks, as stakeholders try to rein in the price tag associated with the reform effort. Here’s what’s been going on:
The President
President Obama continues to reiterate his two goals for the overhaul – reducing overall health care costs and covering the uninsured. At the same time, the President has demanded that larger members of the health sector come up with their own savings to pay for the plan, and the pharmaceutical industry responded this week with $80 billion over 10 years.
Senate Activity
The mark-up of the proposal drafted by the Senate Finance Committee, the committee which was previously out in front on health care reform, has stalled due to the lack of a bipartisan consensus. Chairman Max Baucus and the committee staff continue to work around the clock to refine their bill to gain support on both sides of the aisle.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee was been holding a week-long marathon of a mark-up on its proposal. NHPCO has been asked by Committee staff to comment on proposed amendments that would expand efforts to increase utilization of Advance Directives. This mark-up is expected to continue through the week, and may need to reconvene after next week’s District Work Period.
House Activity
Late last week, the committees of jurisdiction in the House of Representatives released a nearly 900-page draft of the House health care reform proposal. Buried in that draft document is a reduction in the productivity factor, which amounts to an across-the-board rate reduction for all Medicare providers. This is an early draft of one Chamber’s proposal, and we don’t know whether it will come out in the final package. We are still combing through the hefty document to determine if there are other provisions that might impact hospice.
The Ways & Means Committee continues its hearings on health care reform this week, and is expected to begin mark-up of the proposal after the District Work Period. The Energy & Commerce Committee heard testimony from Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week and also continues hearings on health care reform.
NHPCO
ABC News hosted a Healthcare Reform Town Hall Meeting on June 24, at the White House. The program was moderated by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and featured a cross section of Americans asking President Obama questions about healthcare issues as they relate to their personal needs. NHPCO provided information on end-of-life care to ABC News producers, and helped the news team covering this town hall meeting to find additional professional contacts in the field.
NHPCO and the Alliance for Care at the End of Life continue to be in contact with the key Committees of jurisdiction, and try to advance end-of-life care proposals that would pave the pave the way for modernizing the Medicare Hospice Benefit in the future. Check out of the proposals endorsed by NHPCO in recent weeks.
Please stay tuned for future health care reform updates. The President continues to push for passage of bill by the end of the summer and the coming weeks will be full of activity as the various Committees of jurisdiction try to meld their proposals together and pass their bills.
New Health Care Reform Resource Center
Please visit the new Hospice & Health Care Reform Resource Center. There, you can find our current and past updates on health care reform activities. You’ll also find what we are sending to the Hill on hospice and health care reform, and many other valuable resources.
Providers with questions may contact NHPCO's Public Policy Team at advocacy@nhpco.org.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
The President
President Obama continues to reiterate his two goals for the overhaul – reducing overall health care costs and covering the uninsured. At the same time, the President has demanded that larger members of the health sector come up with their own savings to pay for the plan, and the pharmaceutical industry responded this week with $80 billion over 10 years.
Senate Activity
The mark-up of the proposal drafted by the Senate Finance Committee, the committee which was previously out in front on health care reform, has stalled due to the lack of a bipartisan consensus. Chairman Max Baucus and the committee staff continue to work around the clock to refine their bill to gain support on both sides of the aisle.
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee was been holding a week-long marathon of a mark-up on its proposal. NHPCO has been asked by Committee staff to comment on proposed amendments that would expand efforts to increase utilization of Advance Directives. This mark-up is expected to continue through the week, and may need to reconvene after next week’s District Work Period.
House Activity
Late last week, the committees of jurisdiction in the House of Representatives released a nearly 900-page draft of the House health care reform proposal. Buried in that draft document is a reduction in the productivity factor, which amounts to an across-the-board rate reduction for all Medicare providers. This is an early draft of one Chamber’s proposal, and we don’t know whether it will come out in the final package. We are still combing through the hefty document to determine if there are other provisions that might impact hospice.
The Ways & Means Committee continues its hearings on health care reform this week, and is expected to begin mark-up of the proposal after the District Work Period. The Energy & Commerce Committee heard testimony from Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this week and also continues hearings on health care reform.
NHPCO
ABC News hosted a Healthcare Reform Town Hall Meeting on June 24, at the White House. The program was moderated by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and featured a cross section of Americans asking President Obama questions about healthcare issues as they relate to their personal needs. NHPCO provided information on end-of-life care to ABC News producers, and helped the news team covering this town hall meeting to find additional professional contacts in the field.
NHPCO and the Alliance for Care at the End of Life continue to be in contact with the key Committees of jurisdiction, and try to advance end-of-life care proposals that would pave the pave the way for modernizing the Medicare Hospice Benefit in the future. Check out of the proposals endorsed by NHPCO in recent weeks.
Please stay tuned for future health care reform updates. The President continues to push for passage of bill by the end of the summer and the coming weeks will be full of activity as the various Committees of jurisdiction try to meld their proposals together and pass their bills.
New Health Care Reform Resource Center
Please visit the new Hospice & Health Care Reform Resource Center. There, you can find our current and past updates on health care reform activities. You’ll also find what we are sending to the Hill on hospice and health care reform, and many other valuable resources.
Providers with questions may contact NHPCO's Public Policy Team at advocacy@nhpco.org.
####
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Letter to President Obama
Hospice Community Urges President Obama to Stop Funding Cuts
Cuts Beginning October 1 Will Reduce Access to Care for Dying Americans
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, 3,524 hospice providers from across the country sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to stop cuts to the Medicare hospice benefit beginning on October 1, 2009.
The cuts threaten to jeopardize availability of the compassionate and high-quality care that 1.5 million patients and their family caregivers receive from hospice providers each year.
In addition to the letter, more than 500 providers of the hospice community submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on how the cuts will cause them to decrease services, reduce staffing, and in some cases, close their programs.
This follows two Congressional letters sent to President Obama by 45 U.S. Senators and 171 U.S. Representatives, demonstrating that he has strong, bipartisan support to stop the cuts in hospice funding.
The cuts come from a 2008 federal rule that eliminates a component of the Medicare hospice benefit known as the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF). Members of the hospice community have been calling and emailing the Administration requesting that implementation of this rule be stopped.
“The sheer number of hospice programs represented by this letter and those recently sent by Members of Congress should send a strong message to the White House about the urgency in stopping these cuts,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO.
Earlier this year, President Obama and Congress approved a moratorium on the hospice funding cuts that expires on September 30, 2009. Without further action, hospice reimbursements will drop by 3.1 percent, leaving hospice programs, particularly smaller and rural ones, facing cutbacks in services and possible closure.
Hospice is a proven Medicare cost saver. In 2007, an independent, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study by Duke University found that hospice reduced Medicare costs by $2,300 per patient, saving more than $2 billion per year.
Hospice is also considered to be the model of high-quality care at the end of life. Research from NHPCO shows that 98 percent of families served by hospice are willing to recommend its care and services to others.
For more information about NHPCO’s efforts to protect hospice funding, please visit NHPCO’s Advocacy Web page at: nhpco.org/advocacy.
Cuts Beginning October 1 Will Reduce Access to Care for Dying Americans
(Alexandria, VA) – Today, 3,524 hospice providers from across the country sent a letter to President Barack Obama urging him to stop cuts to the Medicare hospice benefit beginning on October 1, 2009.
The cuts threaten to jeopardize availability of the compassionate and high-quality care that 1.5 million patients and their family caregivers receive from hospice providers each year.
In addition to the letter, more than 500 providers of the hospice community submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on how the cuts will cause them to decrease services, reduce staffing, and in some cases, close their programs.
This follows two Congressional letters sent to President Obama by 45 U.S. Senators and 171 U.S. Representatives, demonstrating that he has strong, bipartisan support to stop the cuts in hospice funding.
The cuts come from a 2008 federal rule that eliminates a component of the Medicare hospice benefit known as the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF). Members of the hospice community have been calling and emailing the Administration requesting that implementation of this rule be stopped.
“The sheer number of hospice programs represented by this letter and those recently sent by Members of Congress should send a strong message to the White House about the urgency in stopping these cuts,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO.
Earlier this year, President Obama and Congress approved a moratorium on the hospice funding cuts that expires on September 30, 2009. Without further action, hospice reimbursements will drop by 3.1 percent, leaving hospice programs, particularly smaller and rural ones, facing cutbacks in services and possible closure.
Hospice is a proven Medicare cost saver. In 2007, an independent, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study by Duke University found that hospice reduced Medicare costs by $2,300 per patient, saving more than $2 billion per year.
Hospice is also considered to be the model of high-quality care at the end of life. Research from NHPCO shows that 98 percent of families served by hospice are willing to recommend its care and services to others.
For more information about NHPCO’s efforts to protect hospice funding, please visit NHPCO’s Advocacy Web page at: nhpco.org/advocacy.
###
Contact:Angie Truesdale
Ph: 703-647-5163
Jon Radulovic
Ph: 703-837-3139
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
ABC News to Host White House Town Hall - NHPCO provides information
NHPCO Provides Information to ABC News in Preparation for White House Forum
To: NHPCO Membership
From: NHPCO Executive Office
Date: June 24, 2009
ABC News will be hosting a Healthcare Reform Town Hall Meeting this evening, June 24, at the White House. The program will be moderated by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and will feature a cross section of Americans asking President Obama questions about healthcare issues as they relate to their personal needs. NHPCO provided information on end-of-life care to ABC News producers and helped the news team working on this town hall meeting to find additional professional contacts in the field. A special thanks to our members who assisted with this effort.
While we don’t expect to hear from a hospice patient or family member in this town hall meeting, a good deal of content has been provided and the value of hospice has been expressed by the news team. We hope there will be further attention that focuses on the important work that we are all committed to. As providers of hospice and palliative care, we understand the importance of end-of-life care in healthcare provision and NHPCO is committed to making sure this critical topic is included in discussions of healthcare reform.
For those interested in this general town hall meeting, we encourage you to watch the program on your ABC affiliate station; the program is scheduled to be broadcast live at 10:00pm ET.
Thank you.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
To: NHPCO Membership
From: NHPCO Executive Office
Date: June 24, 2009
ABC News will be hosting a Healthcare Reform Town Hall Meeting this evening, June 24, at the White House. The program will be moderated by Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson and will feature a cross section of Americans asking President Obama questions about healthcare issues as they relate to their personal needs. NHPCO provided information on end-of-life care to ABC News producers and helped the news team working on this town hall meeting to find additional professional contacts in the field. A special thanks to our members who assisted with this effort.
While we don’t expect to hear from a hospice patient or family member in this town hall meeting, a good deal of content has been provided and the value of hospice has been expressed by the news team. We hope there will be further attention that focuses on the important work that we are all committed to. As providers of hospice and palliative care, we understand the importance of end-of-life care in healthcare provision and NHPCO is committed to making sure this critical topic is included in discussions of healthcare reform.
For those interested in this general town hall meeting, we encourage you to watch the program on your ABC affiliate station; the program is scheduled to be broadcast live at 10:00pm ET.
Thank you.
-###-
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Monday, June 22, 2009
Comments from Provider Needed to Protect Rates!
To: NHPCO Membership
From: NHPCO Regulatory Team
Re: June 16, 2009
The rates for hospice will be cut by 3.2% in October, and an additional 1% the following year unless CMS halts its plans to phase out the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) in the hospice wage index. Have you done everything you can to tell CMS to eliminate this rate reduction? Did you know that CMS has received NO comments from providers so far on this proposed rule? Regulators could take this lack of response from the hospice community as an indication that rate cuts will not present any problems for providers.
Act now…. Time is short...Comments are due next Monday, June 22...Tell your story about how the rate cut is affecting you and your hospice program. Here’s how...
How You Can Help
Key Issue and Talking Points: FY2010 Proposed Hospice Wage Index
Sample Letter
How You Can Help
Review the talking points below and submit your comments on the proposed rule to CMS. When preparing comments, please refer to file code CMS-1420-P. Comments must be received no later than 5:00 pm on Monday, June 22, 2009.
Electronic Comments:
The fastest and easiest way to submit comments would be electronically; visit http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=0900006480968c04 and follow the instructions to comment. Make sure you reference the document number: CMS-1420-P.
Written Comments:
You may mail written comments to the following address ONLY. Please allow sufficient time to ensure that mailed comments are received before the close of the comment period.
From: NHPCO Regulatory Team
Re: June 16, 2009
The rates for hospice will be cut by 3.2% in October, and an additional 1% the following year unless CMS halts its plans to phase out the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) in the hospice wage index. Have you done everything you can to tell CMS to eliminate this rate reduction? Did you know that CMS has received NO comments from providers so far on this proposed rule? Regulators could take this lack of response from the hospice community as an indication that rate cuts will not present any problems for providers.
Act now…. Time is short...Comments are due next Monday, June 22...Tell your story about how the rate cut is affecting you and your hospice program. Here’s how...
How You Can Help
Key Issue and Talking Points: FY2010 Proposed Hospice Wage Index
Sample Letter
How You Can Help
Review the talking points below and submit your comments on the proposed rule to CMS. When preparing comments, please refer to file code CMS-1420-P. Comments must be received no later than 5:00 pm on Monday, June 22, 2009.
Electronic Comments:
The fastest and easiest way to submit comments would be electronically; visit http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=SubmitComment&o=0900006480968c04 and follow the instructions to comment. Make sure you reference the document number: CMS-1420-P.
Written Comments:
You may mail written comments to the following address ONLY. Please allow sufficient time to ensure that mailed comments are received before the close of the comment period.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: CMS–1420–P
P.O. Box 8012
Baltimore, MD 21244–8012
Express Mail:
You may send written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address ONLY.
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Department of Health and Human Services
Attention: CMS–1420–P
Mail Stop C4–26–05
7500 Security Boulevard
Baltimore, MD 21244–1850
Key Issue and Talking Points
Issue: FY2010 Proposed Hospice Wage Index
CMS proposes to continue its phase-out of the BNAF over the next two years, with a 75% reduction in FY 2010 and a complete phase-out in FY 2011.
Member Talking Points:
- A 75% reduction in the BNAF is equal to a rate reduction of 3.2 % in FY2010, beginning October 1, 2009, and an additional one percent reduction in FY 2011, ultimately resulting in a rate reduction of approximately 4.2% for most hospices.
Describe any direct impact the proposed rate cut will have on:
- Patient and family services, such as: (services cut back, services discontinued, etc.)
- Reductions in service area;
- Employee layoffs;
- Higher case loads;
- Any other negative impact on program services because of the reimbursement cuts. - In a time of economic uncertainty and loss, with escalating costs (gas prices are on the rise again), a rate cut is exactly the wrong action for CMS to take.
- CMS ought to encourage more patients and families to elect hospice care so that they will receive the care they need and deserve, and save the Medicare system money.
NHPCO will submit comprehensive comments but that is not enough. It is imperative that Regulators hear from members of the hospice community. It is especially important that you explain the impact these rate cuts will have on staffing and patient services.Thank you for your ongoing efforts to protect hospice!
-###-
Note: NHPCO Regulatory Team issued a comprehensive Alert and Call to Action on June 9 that goes into more detail and looks at some of the broader issues. That alert is available on the NHPCO Web site.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Friday, April 24, 2009
Capitol Hill Day a Success
NHPCO CAPITOL HILL DAY PARTICIPANTS TO CONGRESS: PROTECT ACCESS TO COMPASSIONATE & HIGH-QUALITY END-OF-LIFE CARE
(Alexandria, Va) – More than 500 Hospice Advocates from across the country met with their U.S. Senators and Representatives yesterday, urging them to protect access to compassionate and high-quality end-of-life care for the more than 1.4 million patients and families who depend on hospice each year.
The meetings were part of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s annual Capitol Hill Day. In addition to the meetings in Washington, D.C., thousands of phone calls were made to Congressional offices by Hospice Advocates, who participated in NHPCO’s inaugural Virtual Hill Day.
Throughout their interactions with Congress, NHPCO Hill Day participants emphasized the value of hospice in their communities, provided state-level data on quality and family satisfaction with hospice services provided, and urged lawmakers to support efforts to stop cuts in Medicare hospice funding that threaten to close the doors of hospice programs around the country.
In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a regulation that eliminates a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement formula known as the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF). The phased funding cut threatened 3,000 hospice provider jobs this year, as well as the survival of hospice programs, especially smaller and rural ones, across the country as the cuts were phased in. While a temporary moratorium on the hospice funding cuts was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it expires on September 30 of this year. Just this week, CMS released a proposed FY2010 Hospice Wage Index rule that would incorporate a 75 percent reduction in the BNAF, which is a 3.1 percent reduction in overall hospice reimbursement. This development underscores the urgency in rescinding the CMS rule.
NHPCO Hill Day participants specifically asked Members of Congress to sign on to a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama and to contact the Department of Health and Human Services about rescinding the 2008 CMS hospice funding cut before it goes into effect on October 1 of this year.
“This is a critical year for the hospice community, so it was important for our advocates to send a strong message to Capitol Hill about the importance of the high-quality services provided through hospice, and the fact that hospice is a cost-saver to Medicare. If these funding cuts are allowed to go forward, they will have a devastating effect on access to high-quality and compassionate end-of-life care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO.
In 2007, an independent, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study by Duke University found that hospice reduced Medicare costs by $2,300 per patient, amounting to more than $2 billion in savings per year.
Hill Day kicks off NHPCO’s annual Management & Leadership Conference, which attracts more than 1,600 members of the hospice community from all over the nation. Two hundred additional members of the hospice community joined the Hill Day participants for a reception honoring Hospice Champions on Capitol Hill at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Later in the week, the hospice community will also hear from Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform, and Elizabeth Edwards when she is recognized as NHPCO’s Person of the Year.
For more information about NHPCO’s Capitol Hill Day, please visit: www.nhpco.org/advocacy.
Media Contact:
Sara Perkins
Manager of Public Policy Communications
Ph: 703-837-3155
sperkins@nhpco.org
(Alexandria, Va) – More than 500 Hospice Advocates from across the country met with their U.S. Senators and Representatives yesterday, urging them to protect access to compassionate and high-quality end-of-life care for the more than 1.4 million patients and families who depend on hospice each year.
The meetings were part of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s annual Capitol Hill Day. In addition to the meetings in Washington, D.C., thousands of phone calls were made to Congressional offices by Hospice Advocates, who participated in NHPCO’s inaugural Virtual Hill Day.
Throughout their interactions with Congress, NHPCO Hill Day participants emphasized the value of hospice in their communities, provided state-level data on quality and family satisfaction with hospice services provided, and urged lawmakers to support efforts to stop cuts in Medicare hospice funding that threaten to close the doors of hospice programs around the country.
In 2008, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a regulation that eliminates a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement formula known as the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF). The phased funding cut threatened 3,000 hospice provider jobs this year, as well as the survival of hospice programs, especially smaller and rural ones, across the country as the cuts were phased in. While a temporary moratorium on the hospice funding cuts was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, it expires on September 30 of this year. Just this week, CMS released a proposed FY2010 Hospice Wage Index rule that would incorporate a 75 percent reduction in the BNAF, which is a 3.1 percent reduction in overall hospice reimbursement. This development underscores the urgency in rescinding the CMS rule.
NHPCO Hill Day participants specifically asked Members of Congress to sign on to a bipartisan letter to President Barack Obama and to contact the Department of Health and Human Services about rescinding the 2008 CMS hospice funding cut before it goes into effect on October 1 of this year.
“This is a critical year for the hospice community, so it was important for our advocates to send a strong message to Capitol Hill about the importance of the high-quality services provided through hospice, and the fact that hospice is a cost-saver to Medicare. If these funding cuts are allowed to go forward, they will have a devastating effect on access to high-quality and compassionate end-of-life care,” said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of NHPCO.
In 2007, an independent, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded study by Duke University found that hospice reduced Medicare costs by $2,300 per patient, amounting to more than $2 billion in savings per year.
Hill Day kicks off NHPCO’s annual Management & Leadership Conference, which attracts more than 1,600 members of the hospice community from all over the nation. Two hundred additional members of the hospice community joined the Hill Day participants for a reception honoring Hospice Champions on Capitol Hill at the new U.S. Capitol Visitor Center. Later in the week, the hospice community will also hear from Nancy-Ann DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform, and Elizabeth Edwards when she is recognized as NHPCO’s Person of the Year.
For more information about NHPCO’s Capitol Hill Day, please visit: www.nhpco.org/advocacy.
Media Contact:
Sara Perkins
Manager of Public Policy Communications
Ph: 703-837-3155
sperkins@nhpco.org
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
24th Management and Leadership Conference
Healthcare Reform, Advocacy, FDA Session and More on Agenda at National Hospice Leadership Conference in DC
DeParle, Edwards, FDA, Capitol Hill Day all highlights of NHPCO Management and
Leadership Conference April 22-25
(Alexandria, Va) – Over 1,600 hospice and palliative leaders, industry experts, and providers will gather to discuss the importance of hospice and palliative care in the healthcare reform debate and carry the voice of the hospice and palliative care community to Capitol Hill.
Plenary speakers include White House health reform “czar” Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Elizabeth Edwards, Patrick Lencioni, and J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO president/CEO. They will discuss the how quality end-of-life care is critical to the wellbeing of our nation’s healthcare landscape.
Hospice advocates will bring important messages about end-of-life care to Capitol Hill on Wednesday reminding legislators that hospice provides more care that costs less to dying Americans and their families.
The Food and Drug Administration will participate in a special listening session to discuss the impact of opioid availability. Hosted by NHPCO, AAHPM, CAPC, and HPNA, this session will allow participants to ask questions about the FDA’s plans regarding opioid production.
NHPCO’s Management and Leadership Conference will feature more than 80 concurrent workshops, awards, networking opportunities, and more. Highlights include:
- Hospice Capitol Hill Day – Wednesday, April 22, an all day event ending with a reception at the Capitol Visitor’s Center beginning at 5:00pm.
- Elizabeth Edwards – “Reforming Healthcare and Improving End-of-Life Care: Awakening Our National Conscience,” Thursday, April 23, 8:30am. Mrs. Edwards will also receive NHPCO’s Person of the Year Award.
- Special FDA Listening Session – to discuss opioid availability, Thursday, April 23, 12:15-1:15pm.
- Nancy-Ann Min DeParle, Director of the White House Office of Health Care Reform – to discuss health care reform and hospice/palliative care, Friday, April 24, 8:30am.
- Patrick Lencioni – “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team,” Friday, April 24, 9:00am.
- National Hospice Foundation Gala and Awards – “Bricks and Diamonds,”Friday, April 24, 6:30 – 11:00pm. Omni-Shoreham Hotel, Regency Ballroom.
Advocacy in Action: Mobilizing People and Organizations to Lead Change
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization24th Management and Leadership ConferenceApril 22-25, 2009Omni-Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC
Those interested in attending may register at the conference registration desk.
Those interested in attending may register at the conference registration desk.
Credentialed members of the media are invited. To RSVP prior to conference, contact Jon Radulovic. During conference, please check in at conference registration desk. Additional conference info available at www.nhpco.org/MLC2009.
Contact:
Jon Radulovic, vice president communications
Ph: 703-837-3139
Cell: 571-259-5026
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Elizabeth Edwards Opens NHPCO's 24th Management and Leadership Conference
Reforming Healthcare and Improving End-of-Life Care: Awakening Our National Conscience
Elizabeth Edwards is a strong and deeply committed advocate for improved and accessible healthcare. She was publicly introduced to America when her husband, then Vice-Presidential candidate John Edwards, was launched into the spotlight in 2004. But it was her down-to-earth personality that charmed America.
Living with Strength, Comfort and Dignity
Mrs. Edwards knows from firsthand experience the need for changes to the healthcare system that will improve access, quality, and – for those facing the end of life – comfort and dignity.
Her personal experience in coping with cancer, caring for aging and ill parents and her professional work in the legal and policy areas have made her a passionate proponent for change.
Strength for the Future from the Foundation of the Past
Mrs. Edwards stated: “It is a test of our characters, individually and communally, what we value and honor when facing the end of life. Individually we do well: hospice professionals, who are trained, do extraordinarily well and even those, like me, who stumble through, do as well as can be expected. Communally, particularly as a nation, we do less well. The regulatory limitations on reimbursement for hospice care under Medicare do not reflect our national will that the ends of life – and all our lives will end – be as comfortable and dignified as possible.”
At NHPCO's 24th Management and Leadership Conference, Mrs. Edwards will share her ideas, perspectives and passion for improving healthcare during the opening plenary session. She will encourage the hospice community to hold fast to the values that founded the modern hospice movement while challenging all to continue to be champions for those at the end of life.
Make plans today to attend the premier end-of-life leadership conference.
Make plans today to attend the premier end-of-life leadership conference.
Register today to experience this special plenary session and over 100 innovative sessions at the 24th MLC.
- Preconference Seminars: April 21-22, 2009
- Main Conference: April 23-25, 2009
- Location: Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, D.C.
For more information visit, http://www.nhpco.org
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