Situation Report | April 26, 2021
HCA convened members of its Hospice and Palliative Care Forum on Friday to discuss the massive proposed 2022 federal fiscal year hospice rule.
Joining the HCA team were hospice leaders from the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC) to engage and gain input from New York hospices that could be channeled into a national strategy.
HCA actively participates on multiple NAHC committees and levels of work on hospice. Our input — and yours as members — goes directly into the national discussions.
The new federal hospice rule proposes extensive reimbursement revisions and updates in hospice financing as outlined in HCA’s April 14 memo on the rule.
Also proposed are a series of program changes related to the election statement addendum, permanent extension of certain blanket regulatory waivers, and proposals related to hospice quality measurement and reporting.
The rule also seeks hospice information and input on critical areas that the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) intends to consider in the future.
HCA members described experiences with volume changes in addendum requests and efforts to coordinate coverages with Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) plans.
Members also voiced concern over the anticipated heavy new documentation requirements accompanying CMS’s plans for a new hospice assessment (referred to as the “HOPE” tool). Proposed labor-share percentage reductions in the rates and quality measurement changes were also areas of concern.
All HCA hospice members are urged to directly e-mail HCA with comments on the rule and/or your experiences in areas covered by the rule. Please write to info@hcanys.org with the subject line “Hospice Rule Comments.”
If you did not participate Friday and would like to be included on the next invitation, please contact HCA President Al Cardillo at acardillo@hcanys.org.