World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, October 12

People from around the world who have been impacted by a life-limiting illness - either personally or by supporting a loved one - will be making their voices heard calling for greater awareness and support of global palliative care services on Saturday, October 12, 2019.

The theme My Care, My Right aims to communicate that palliative care can be demanded by the public - and that, together, every person impacted by a life limiting illness can advocate for palliative care. 

This year's WHPCD 2019 comes on the heels of the UN High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) on September 23, 2019. Therefore, a key action for the campaign will be to call on governments to listen to people who need or access palliative care and support the inclusion of the essential package of palliative care in all national Universal Health Coverage (UHC) schemes.

The theme of My Care, My Right will address the importance of mobilizing communities, particularly volunteers to ensure that patient’s right to care are supported. Specifically addressing the premise that if care is a patient's right, how can UHC support carers to improve their well being under Sustainable Development Goal 3.8. 

How to get involved:

• Subscribe to the WHPCA's newsletter for campaign updates and the launch of new campaign materials: http://tiny.cc/lnky8y 
• Follow @worldhospiceday on Twitter
• Follow hashtags: #mycaremyright and #whpcd19

Visit the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day website for resources and consider hosting an event in your community that you can register on the World Day website. 

This is a great way to get reach for November's National Hospice and Palliative Care Month outreach in the U.S.

Virtual Hill Week: Preparatory Webinar #2

Calling all hospice and palliative care advocates!

In preparation for Virtual Hill Week, September 9 – 13, 2019, Hospice Action Network is happy to present the second of three preparatory webinars offered free of charge.

Join the Hospice Action Network lobbying team on Wednesday, August 21 at 3:30 EDT for webinar #2.  Hear the latest news from Capitol Hill, including information on PCHETA and the Rural Access to Hospice Act. Gain a better understanding of how the legislative process works and learn about issues affecting our community.

Register here to attend this free webinar.

If you missed the first webinar, don’t worry. You can view the recording and complete the post-webinar survey here, as well as register for the third webinar in the series.

As an incentive, upon completing all three webinars and all Virtual Hill Week participation requirements (September 9-13), participants will receive a virtual certificate from the Hospice Action Network designating them a 2019 Virtual Hill Week All-Star. And ONE lucky All-Star will be chosen at random to receive a 50% off registration to the 2020 Leadership and Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC.

Remember, you can advocate for hospice and palliative care from wherever you are and carry the voice of our community to Capitol Hill

Feel free to reach out to the HAN team with any questions.

Registration for IDC19 is Now Open

NHPCO will host the 2019 Interdisciplinary Conference on November 4 – 6 in Orlando, Florida. Preconference offerings are on November 2 and 3.

Join hospice and palliative care professionals from across the country colleagues to experience a unique blend of keynotes, educational sessions, preconference learning and networking opportunities grounded in the philosophy of the interdisciplinary team. Engage with colleagues from across the country as you learn about new approaches, successful models and innovations that will advance your professional skill set and help strengthen your organization.

Who should attend? Professionals in the hospice and palliative care field and related stakeholders in the following disciplines and roles: advanced nurse practitioner, bereavement, nurse, palliative care, pediatrics, physician, quality, regulatory and compliance, social work, spiritual care.

IDC19 educational session tracks:

• Community-Based Palliative Care
• Interdisciplinary Team Leadership
• Medical Care
• Pediatrics
• Quality
• Regulatory
• Supportive Care

Visit the NHPCO website to learn more about IDC19 and to register – register by September 15, 2019 to catch the early-bird rate!

FY2020 Hospice Wage Index Final Rule

On July 31, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule (CMS-1714-F) that demonstrates continued commitment to strengthening Medicare by better aligning the hospice payment rates with the costs of providing care and increasing transparency so patients can make more informed choices.

This final rule updates the hospice payment rates, wage index, and cap amount for fiscal year FY2020.  This rule finalizes rebasing of the continuous home care (CHC), general inpatient care (GIP), and the inpatient respite care (IRC) per diem payment rates in a budget-neutral manner through a small reduction to the routine home care (RHC) rates to more accurately align Medicare payments with the costs of providing care. Additionally, this rule finalizes modifications to the election statement by requiring hospices, upon request, to furnish an election statement addendum effective beginning in FY2021. The addendum will list those items, services, and drugs the hospice has determined to be unrelated to the terminal illness and related conditions, increasing coverage transparency for beneficiaries under a hospice election. Finally, CMS will continue its work to modernize and strengthen Medicare operations through the Hospice Quality Reporting Program (HQRP).

The hospice payment system includes a statutory aggregate cap. The aggregate cap limits the overall payments per patient made to a hospice annually. The final hospice cap amount for the FY 2020 cap year will be $29,964.78, which is equal to the FY 2019 cap amount ($29,205.44) updated by the final FY 2020 hospice payment update percentage of 2.6 percent.

Read the CMS press release on CMS website.

Members of NHPCO will find a comprehensive Regulatory Alert and additional resources on the NHPCO website.

LAC 2020 Call for Proposals is Open

You are invited to lead the conversation around innovation and change by submitting a session proposal. 

The Conference Planning Committee for NHPCO’s 2020 LAC seeks proposals that are highly interactive and provide participants with relevant content and practical tools that they can apply in their own work. Sessions should be designed to engage CEOs, administrators, directors and other leaders working to promote advancement of hospice and palliative care and plan its future development. 

Help shape the future of hospice and palliative care innovation next March by proposing an idea for a session. Share your work in one or more areas of emphasis:

·         Advocacy

·         Clinical and Operations Management;

·         Emerging Markets and Partnership Opportunities;

·         Engagement and Marketing

·         Finance

·         Fund Development

·         Leadership

·         Palliative Care

·         Quality

·         Regulatory

·         Staff Development/Excellence

Review the Call for Proposals tips and suggestions before you submit online. 

Find out more and submit your proposal today.

Questions? education@nhpco.org
Submission deadline: August 7, 2019.

NHPCO Responds to New OIG Reports

On July 9, 2019, the Office of the Inspector General released two new reports following its investigation into hospice care in the U.S.  To briefly summarize, the OIG found that 20 percent of hospices have deficiencies that put patients at risk and the OIG is suggesting that among its recommendations that deficiency data be shared more broadly to help improve quality of care. 

News stories prompted by the OIG reports have been carried by The Washington Post, NBC News, and NPR. The journalists writing some of these news stories have shared selected patient stories based on their own investigation. These patient stories are difficult to read and reflect badly on hospice.  It is likely that other media outlets will carry these articles or generate additional news coverage on this topic.

Many of the issues brought up in the new reports have been discussed in previous OIG documents going back to 2005. 

NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach released some key messages, most notably:

NHPCO welcomes the opportunity to shed a light on high quality providers as well as those that fall short in providing appropriate care. NHPCO will continue to partner with government agencies to strengthen and make more transparent the tools and data needed to empower consumers when they are choosing a quality hospice program. NHPCO will also continue to provide tools and resources to help our members to meet and exceed quality benchmarks.

Read the complete NHPCO response online.

Free APM Webinar offered by National Coalition

The National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care will be presenting a free webinar, New Medicare Alternative Payment Models: Options and Opportunities for Hospices and Palliative Care Programs. There are limited spaces available for the webinar offered on Thursday, July 25, 2019 from 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. ET, so those interested should register as soon as possible. (Please note, this is a new date for this program.)

The program is designed to help prepare the U.S. hospice provider community for the new payment models that were announced in April and are coming. This webinar will be helpful to hospice and palliative program managers and leaders in all disciplines and others interested in the new Medicare payment options.

This webinar will help you:

• Describe how participation and payment would work in these voluntary models, available in 26 geographic regions across the country;
• Consider the pros and cons of these new payment models; and,
• Determine whether to apply to participate on your own and/or whether to work with potential collaborators in your local area, by evaluating the program requirements.

Register while space is available for New Medicare Alternative Payment Models: Options and Opportunities for Hospices and Palliative Care Programs.