HCAOA The Voice Winter 2020

8 HCAOA The Voice MEMBER NEWS When I became President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Orga - nization (NHPCO), the nation’s oldest and largest association dedicated to hospice and palliative care providers and those they serve, I had already worked for several years in the home-based care world and in government. Although I certainly worked and regulated hospice and palliative care providers, I didn’t fully realize how both broad and limited hospice and palliative care can be, and yet how the benefits could truly serve as a beacon for the rest of the health care system during this incredibly challenging time. Hospice is limited by eligibility rules (prognosis of six months or less), lack of concurrent care, and a cap on services. Palliative care is limited in more funda - mental sense: despite constant discussion there is no uniform fee-for-service community-based palliative care benefit in Medicare. However, both benefits are also quite broad: while the rest of the health care system is organized around “medical necessity” hospice and palliative care (and PACE) are free to provide any benefits that are needed by a patient. Music therapy? Comfort care? Chaplain? Emotional supports? These are not typically benefits that are provided in the rest of Medicare but can be quite common parts of a care plan in hospice. There are two fundamental ways in which hospice and non-medical home care or personal care intersect. First, while the rest of the health care system is chasing value, non-medical supports and services, population health, etc., personal care and hospice/palliative care providers have already been providing this non-medical care for years. I think that it is imperative that our providers take an active role in helping to lead various value-based and alternative care models that aim to reduce costs and improve quality. We do not need hospitals telling us how to do what we’ve been doing for years. We do need to help teach, and help coach our friends and colleagues, but we need not bashfully bow out after they have stepped up. We must continue to be engaged and lead this person-centered care (which happens to be NHPCO’s tag line). Second, as anybody who has had a loved one on hospice knows the benefits— although generous—are not unlimited. The availability of 24-hour care does not mean that this care is constant. This is where coordination and partnership with a home care agency is crucial—a delicate and hopefully seamless dance between home care, family, and hospice leads to better results and more satisfied families. Patients and families do not think about home health, home care, post-acute, hospice, palliative care, or any other words like that. These are labels we—and the government—put on reimbursement and regulations. Patients and families need help, they need care, and if we can coordinate our efforts without them knowing when one type of care ends and the other starts, then we have done our jobs. I’m proud to stand with the Home Care Association of America, and look forward to doing our very best to coordinate our efforts and care. This would be important at any time, but so crucial in the middle of a pandemic that has cut through the soul of this nation. Together, we can help care for and heal America. About NHPCO: As the leading organization representing hospice and palliative care providers, NHPCO works to expand access to a proven person-centered model for healthcare—one that provides patients and their loved ones with comfort, peace, and dignity during life’s most intimate and vulnerable experiences. To learn more, visit www.nhpco.org . Partnership Between Home Care and Hospice By Edo Banach, JD, President & CEO, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Patients and families do not think about home health, home care, post-acute, hospice, palliative care, or any other words like that. These are labels we—and the government—put on reimbursement and regulations. Patients and families need help, they need care, and if we can coordinate our efforts without them knowing when one type of care ends and the other starts, then we have done our jobs.