The Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) hospice benefit component will end on Dec. 31, 2024, CMS announced on March 4.
Since 2021, the model has allowed Medicare Advantage plans to include the hospice benefit in select states in hopes of improving care coordination between MA payors and hospice providers.
CMS said it is ending the hospice benefit test “after carefully considering recent feedback about the increasing operational challenges of the Hospice Benefit Component and limited and decreasing participation among Medicare Advantage Organizations that may impact a thorough evaluation.
CMS said it will issue additional guidance to ensure that all obligations of any impacted organization may be met in a timely and reasonable manner so that hospice beneficiaries in the hospice benefit component maintain a coordinated, seamless care experience.
Industry advocates celebrated the news after years of criticism of the hospice component in MA.
“This is a huge victory for patients’ access to quality care and for hospice providers who have continually identified challenges with this demonstration including concerns about VBID giving MAOs the ability to limit patient choices,” said Ben Marcantonio, COO and interim CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO).