Four senators have introduced the Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act. S.1845 would require the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) to test a model that provides community-based palliative care and care coordination for high-risk Medicare beneficiaries.
 
Under the new model, multi-disciplinary teams would provide coordinated, palliative care that is available 24-7 for Medicare beneficiaries with serious illnesses or injuries, according to the bill’s description at Congress.gov.
 
The CMMI must evaluate the model by comparing patients participating in the model with those outside of the model in relation to specified metrics, including the election and duration of hospice care.
 
“Providers of all kinds with palliative care expertise would be eligible to participate, including hospices and home health agencies,” notes the National Association for Home Care & Hospice in a message to members June 12 encouraging their support. “Despite payment and other operational challenges, many NAHC members have been providing palliative care for years, often at a financial loss, in response to a community need.”