The Coalition Edition, June 2024

Jun 17, 2024

Full newsletter: The Coalition Edition, June 2024

Concurrent Care: Is it time for a new national dialogue?

Earlier this year leaders from across the country gathered for “Shaping the Future of Serious Illness Care: A Convening to Define Concurrent Care,” a one-day working session that was held in Baltimore, MD. An interdisciplinary cohort of 45 clinicians, patient advocates, and leaders from across the field of serious illness care including pediatrics engaged in a series of sessions throughout the day to explore areas of consensus on the fundamental elements of concurrent care. The conversations from the convening were captured in a newly released summary report that sets the stage for next steps needed to advance concurrent care. The summary report is open access and can be used by any stakeholders with interest in advancing concurrent care.

Attendees were asked to explore what emerging factors they see in the next 5-15 years that will impact the language around concurrent care and should be considered. Attendees were also asked what they see as the core principles, ideas, and goals of concurrent care. The most resonant point was that concurrent care encompasses more than medical treatment—it fosters meaningful, empowering conversations throughout the healthcare journey that put patients in control of their own care.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Convening was made possible thanks to support from the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, National Coalition for Hospice & Palliative Care, and National Association for Home Care and Hospice.

NCHPC Stakeholder Meeting with CMMI on VBID

The NCHPC convened representatives from each of our 14 NCHPC member organizations to meet with leaders from CMMI in response to the recent announcement by CMS that the Hospice Benefit Component of the Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) Model will be ending. Our goals included demonstrating the value of the Coalition as a resource to CMMI that represents the interdisciplinary team (IDT) in the field of serious illness care. We provided a summary of prior recommendations to CMMI that included guiding principles, quality measure recommendations, and suggestions to develop waivers and enhancements. (The full text is available in the link.)

Guiding Principles

The Coalition’s principles align with CMMI’s 2024 Quality Pathway and 2024 Value-Based Specialty Care Update:

Quality of care should not depend on the payment model
Patient-reported experiences need to have sufficient weight (“teeth”) to drive changes in care delivery
Without diminishing attention on prevention and chronic illness stability, the care of those with serious and progressive illnesses – who are often the highest need and highest cost beneficiaries –must also be emphasized
For that sub-set of beneficiaries, person-centered, value-based care must explicitly include palliative care consultation and co-management, whether population-based models or specialty episodes

Hawaii State Plan Amendment Approved

The Hawaii State Plan Amendment (SPA) 22-0013 related to Community Palliative Care was approved on May 7, 2024. This amendment proposed to add palliative care services in non-hospital settings. The update is focused on enhancing the state’s Medicaid program by providing additional benefits and services to eligible individuals. Specifically, the SPA 22-0013 aims to improve the quality of care for Medicaid beneficiaries by providing them with access to palliative care services in non-hospital settings. To address the shortage of palliative care providers in rural areas of Hawaii, the amendment focuses on promoting better coordination of care, improving patient outcomes, and reducing healthcare costs.