Hospice Programs Nationwide Urge Congress to Act on Behalf of End-of Life Patients

WASHINGTON, June 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 3,500 individual hospice providers representing all 50 states are calling on Congress to take immediate action to stop the Administration from slashing the hospice reimbursement under Medicare. The Administration's proposed regulatory change would impact millions of Americans nearing the end of their lives and effectively cut approximately $2.29 billion in payments to hospice providers. The new rule could result in program closures and reduced patient access, as Medicare represents more than 80 percent of hospice revenues. The rule could take effect as early as August.

In an open letter to Congress, the providers call the cut "irresponsible and [a] short-sighted attempt to save dollars at the expense of America's most vulnerable population, the dying."

The Administration, by trying to eliminate the current budget neutrality factor, is in effect cutting reimbursement to one of the most cost-effective health care programs that is also extremely popular among patients and their families. According to an independent Duke University study, hospice saves Medicare an average of $2,300 per patient, or nearly $2 billion each year. Close to 99 percent of families whose loved one used hospice would recommend it to others.

Congress has rejected Administration requests to reduce the level of hospice reimbursement in the past, realizing the harmful impact such cuts would have on care at the bedside. Today, sentiment on Capitol Hill largely remains the same -- in April, a bicameral and bipartisan group of 92 members of Congress sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt in opposition to the proposed rule and within the past week a group of 130 bipartisan representaives in the House asked Ways & Means committee leadership for action to block the hospice rate cuts in the upcoming Medicare package.

The proposed regulatory maneuver is questionable as it has neither been approved by Congress nor recommended by MedPAC, the independent agency established to advise Congress on Medicare issues.

Hospices provide compassionate care for those reaching the end of life. The focus is on caring, not curing, and, in most cases, care is provided in the patient's home. Hospice programs served more than 1.3 million patients and their families in 2006 and that number is expected to continue to rise as more terminally ill patients seek high quality, compassionate end-of-life care.

The Alliance for Care at the End of Life

The Alliance for Care at the End of Life is a 501(c)4 organization created by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) to provide a more aggressive and comprehensive advocacy voice to serve the entire field and, ultimately, one of America's most vulnerable populations - those nearing the end of life.

SOURCE Alliance for Care at the End of Life

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