Advocacy
The Coalition endorses and supports the following bi-partisan federal legislation
- Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act (PCHETA 2243). This bipartisan legislation focuses on investing in training, education, and research for the palliative care and hospice workforce. Co-sponsors
- Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act (S.1845) which proposes the creation of a demonstration project to support improved access to palliative care services through a community-based model. The bill requires the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a Community-Based Palliative Care (CBPC) demonstration. This program would provide essential interdisciplinary care to people with serious illness in their home and lead to improved quality and cost outcomes. Co-Sponsors
- The Provider Training in Palliative Care Act, S. 2117, would allow National Health Service Corps participants to defer their service for up to a year to do additional training in palliative care, as long as they provide primary care during their service with the Corps. Co-Sponsors
- Supporting Our Seniors Act, 2584 is a bill that would establish a federal commission on long-term care including an emphasis on determining the palliative care needs for the long-term care population. Co-SponsorsTop of Form
- Appropriations for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2024. Legislation and accompanying Report Language appropriates $12.5 and establishes a palliative care research program at the NIH.
If you want to contact your federal officials about any of these issues, you can find your elected officials here.
Coalition Submits Testimony to Support NIH Targeted Research
Statement by Amy Melnick, MPA, Executive Director, National Coalition for Hospice and Palliative Care on Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations for the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Aging and Related Institutes, Submitted for the record to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies March 24, 2023 READ HERE: Research Advocacy: Coalition Submits Testimony to Support NIH Targeted Research – National Coalition For Hospice and Palliative Care (nationalcoalitionhpc.org)
Coalition Statement: Recent Supreme Court Decision, Dobbs Vs. Jackson
Last week, the Supreme Court eliminated guaranteed access to medical care for millions of people, including some patients living with serious illness. The adverse impact on access to healthcare cannot be overstated. The Coalition strongly believes health care Read more
The Coalition has united behind a set of concise palliative care access recommendations submitted to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. These recommendations if utilized in a CMMI demonstration would test the expansion and delivery of palliative care through accountable care organizations and the provisions of waivers and other mechanisms. Read the Coalition Recommendations HERE.
Equity and Inclusion Hospice Recommendations Submitted to CMS
On May 31, the Coalition submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) re: the Hospice Proposed Rule for the Fiscal Year 2023. Coalition comments focused on the equitable and inclusive delivery and staffing of hospice. Read the recommendations HERE.
Coalition Unites Behind Hospice Recommendations to CMS
On August 27th, the Coalition submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) re: the hospice survey reform and enforcement remedies provisions contained in the Calendar Year 2022 Home Health Prospective Payment System proposed rule, also known as CMS-1747-P or the Home Health proposed rule. Feedback and recommendations to CMS were focused on several key areas including the need to support effective public reporting, the establishment of a technical expert panel, and the use of multidisciplinary survey teams. Read the entire set of Coalition comments HERE.
Coalition Endorses Community Based Palliative Care Legislation, Applauds Introduction
The Coalition and our 13 national organizational members voted unanimously to endorse the bi-partisan “Expanding Access to Palliative Care for Seniors Act” introduced by the Co-Chairs of the Senate Comprehensive Care Caucus, Senators Rosen (D-NV), Barrasso (R-WY), Baldwin, (D-WI) and Fischer (R-NE) on July 29. The proposed new legislation, S. 2565, would direct the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to develop a demonstration of a community-based palliative care payment and delivery model. The Coalition has been working on both a regulatory and legislative strategy to expand access to community based palliative care. Read the Coalition’s Press Release.
Coalition Endorses CONNECT for Health Care Act of 2021 re: Telehealth Coverage
The Coalition, along with over 150 other advocacy and health organizations, endorsed “Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act of 2021” (S. 1512) that aims to permanently remove barriers to telehealth coverage. The Act acknowledges that practitioners can provide high-quality telehealth services in a safe and effective manner and seeks to promote higher quality of care, expanded access to telehealth services, and reduced Medicare spending through relaxation of current reimbursement rules and expanded coverage of additional telehealth services. This bill seeks to make permanent many of the changes CMS made during the COVID-19 public health emergency. See The National Law Review article summarizing the Bill.
Coalition Quality Recommendations to CMMI
We formed an interdisciplinary and cross-organizational workgroup to develop recommendations for a standard set of high priority quality measures for people with serious illness; we intend for these recommendations to apply under any payment model that includes patients with serious illness.
Coalition Recommendations to 117th Congress
The Coalition recommends the following actions to assist American families facing serious illness and strengthen the value of healthcare delivery:
Expand Access through Medicare Payment Changes
Expand Access through Medicare Workforce Regulation Changes
Preserve Access to Opioids for the Seriously Ill Population
Build and Sustain the Hospice and Palliative Care Workforce
Bolster Palliative Care Research
Coalition Submits Comments re: CMS FY 22 Hospice Proposed Rule (and More). Read the Coalition’s full response HERE.
CONNECT Health Act Update. The Coalition, along with several members of the Coalition, have endorsed this legislation because, if passed, it would benefit patients and families with serious illness and permanently allow and expand telehealth services by hospice and palliative care providers. The bill expands coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, makes permanent COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities, will improve health outcomes, and makes it easier for patients to safely connect with their doctors. See the Proposed Bill and Press Release.
Coalition Responds to Discussion Draft of the HCBS Access Act
On April 26, the Coalition submitted recommendations to Senators Hassan (D-NH), Casey (D-PA), Brown (D-OH) and Rep. Dingell (D-MI), on their recently released discussion draft of the Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) Access Act available for stakeholder feedback. The proposal seeks to mandate HCBS in Medicaid to provide critical services and creating national, minimum requirements for home and community-based services. One of the Coalition’s primary recommendations is that Medicaid home and community-based services should include access to community-based palliative care for adults and children.
Read the Coalition’s other recommendations.
Coalition Addresses CMS Primary Care First Model’s Seriously Ill Population Delay
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced the Primary Care First (PCF) Model’s Seriously Ill Population (SIP) is “under review and will not begin on the previously announced April 1, 2021 launch date.” The Coalition met with CMS officials in mid-March to discuss the delay and the Coalition’s Strike Team is currently working on next steps to ensure the beneficiaries facing serious illness will have access to high-quality, person-centered care. Updates for the SIP component will also be posted to the CMS Innovation Center’s Primary Care First Model Options resources page.
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