Hospice Group Sues Bush Administration to Stop Cut
in Medicare Payment
NHPCO says independent research shows hospice saves
Medicare money
Sept.
6, 2008 - The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
filed a lawsuit Friday to stop a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services' (CMS) rule that would cut Medicare reimbursement rates for
hospice and would irreparably damage hospice programs across the
country. The administration proposal, if enacted, would have a direct,
negative impact on care at the bedside for the nation's most vulnerable
populations, NHPCO contends.
Seniors choosing hospice or palliative care have
right to participate in treatment plan and more
June
5, 2008 - Medicare beneficiaries with terminal illnesses have their
right to determine how they receive end-of-life care outlined for the
first time in a new regulation to be published today by the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Read
more...
"The Administration's rule is arbitrary and
capricious," said NHPCO President and CEO J. Donald Schumacher. "It will
force many hospice providers across the country to either significantly
scale back the care they provide to terminally ill patients or to shut
their doors altogether."
The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for the
District of Columbia, requests an immediate injunction to prevent the
rule from becoming effective.
On April 28, CMS acted on a provision in the
President's FY09 budget proposal that would cut hospice reimbursement
rates. It does so by altering the wage index adjustment by phasing out
the budget neutrality adjustment factor (BNAF) that was applied to the
hospice wage index in 1997. Its purpose was to minimize the disruption
in beneficiary access to hospice services.
If implemented, such a reduction would cut hospice
reimbursement by almost $2.2 billion. Average hospice reimbursement
would be reduced from current levels by more than 4 percent, according
to a news release from NHPCO.
"The rule is an effort by CMS to reduce hospice
payments by regulation but does so without enough strike
that...virtually any data to back up its push to cut hospice care to
the terminally ill," noted Jonathan Keyserling, executive director of
the Alliance for Care at the End of Life.
In creating this rule, CMS failed to analyze
whether and to what extent the BNAF has played in the growth in the
number of hospices or in hospice expenditures since the hospice wage
index was established in 1997. CMS also failed to analyze the effect of
eliminating this component of the hospice wage on hospices and Medicare
beneficiaries in need of hospice care.
"NHPCO filed suit because the proposed changes to
hospice care of this type and magnitude require substantive supporting
evidence, which we do not find in this rule," said Keyserling.
Hospice a Cost-Effective Choice
NHPCO says independent research has shown that
hospice saves the Medicare system money. According to an independent
2007 Duke University study, hospice saves Medicare an average of $2,300
per patient, amounting to a total savings of about $2 billion a year.
Research has also shown that hospice care is highly rated by family
members of hospice patients, and enables the patient to die at home in
most cases.
Congress has historically rejected Administration
requests to reduce the level of hospice reimbursement, realizing the
harmful impact such cuts would have on care at the bedside. "And this
time is no different, someone needs to speak up for our nation's most
vulnerable population, the dying and their families" says Keyserling.
"Congress should intervene to stop the Administration's cut to hospice
care, before the rule goes into effect."
Considered to be the model for high-quality care
for terminally ill patients, hospice focuses on caring, not curing, and,
in most cases, is provided in the patient's home. Hospice professionals
are experts in providing pain and symptom management to the dying. More
than 1.3 million dying Americans received care from the nation's hospice
providers last year, a number that continues to rise.
The rule was published in The Federal Register on
August 1, and is effective October 1, 2008.
Editors Notes:
NHPCO is the oldest and largest nonprofit
membership organization representing hospice and palliative care
programs and professionals in the United States. NHPCO's mission is to
lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life. -
www.nhpco.org
The Alliance for Care at the End of Life, a 501(c)4
organization, was created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care
Organization (NHPCO) in April of 2007 to provide a more aggressive and
comprehensive advocacy voice that will serve the entire field and,
ultimately, one of America's most vulnerable populations - those nearing
the end of life. -
www.afceol.org
Keep up with the latest news for senior citizens, baby
boomers
Sept.
6, 2008 - The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
filed a lawsuit Friday to stop a Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services' (CMS) rule that would cut Medicare reimbursement rates for
hospice and would irreparably damage hospice programs across the
country. The administration proposal, if enacted, would have a direct,
negative impact on care at the bedside for the nation's most vulnerable
populations, NHPCO contends.