Thank you for the wonderful response and feedback we received for our new Coalition Edition design featured in our May issue. We are pleased you like our new look!
This summer and fall our Coalition, led by our Coalition leaders, is embarking on a strategic planning process which includes these three phases:
- Gather: Collecting information from internal and external stakeholders (that’s where you come in!)
- Soak: Facilitated time with our Coalition members; diving into the data collected and making strategic decisions based on our current mission, vision and values but considering what’s missing and what’s possible.
- Radiate: Writing the plans and operationalizing our work over 3 years to create a workable, creative and strategic set of goals and plans for the Coalition.
During this process, the Coalition acknowledges there is much work to embed and address issues related to diversity, equity and inclusion in all our Coalition initiatives.
We hope to answer the following questions: What is the value of our Coalition? What is the impact our Coalition is making? What are our specific goals we want to achieve?
We would love to hear from you in this Gather phase so please take a moment and give us your input in the “Pulse Check” below.
Thank you!
Amy Melnick, MPA
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 What is the most important thing that the Coalition should do in the next 3 years? |
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(See an overview of our collaborative work and impact this past year HERE.)
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Coalition Submits Comments re: CMS FY 22 Hospice Proposed Rule (and More).
 On June 7th, the Coalition submitted detailed comments and recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on the Medicare Hospice Program, that mainly focused on the Hospice Quality Reporting Program requirements as well as the FY 2022 Hospice Wage Payment Rates and Hospice Conditions of Participation.
These changes have the potential to dramatically impact the delivery of vital hospice services across the nation and ensure an improved understanding of CMS’ expectations for hospice compliance with important health and safety standards for patients, family members, hospice agencies and surveyors. Read the Coalition’s full response HERE.
Thank you to the Coalition’s Hospice Strike Team and Co-Chairs, Katie Wehri (NAHC) and Jennifer Kennedy (NHPCO) for your collaboration and coordination of this effort.
CONNECT Health Act Update
 The Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies for Health Act of 2021 (CONNECT Act) was introduced on April 29th by a group of bipartisan Senators Schatz (D-HI), Wicker (R-MS), Cardin (D-MD), Thune (R-SD), Warner (D-VA), & Hyde-Smith (R-MS) along with half the Senate and nearly 150 supporting organizations.
The Coalition, along with several members of the Coalition, have endorsed this legislation because, if passed, it would benefit patients and families with serious illness and permanently allow and expand telehealth services by hospice and palliative care providers. The bill expands coverage of telehealth services through Medicare, makes permanent COVID-19 telehealth flexibilities, will improve health outcomes, and makes it easier for patients to safely connect with their doctors. See the Proposed Bill and Press Release.
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Proposed Measures Submitted to MUC List
 Since completing the public comment period, the two proposed patient-report experience measures developed by the Palliative Care Measures Project were recently submitted to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Measures Under Consideration (MUC) list. The two measures assess the quality of care provided by palliative care teams working in doctor’s offices and clinics, specifically:
- How much patients feel heard and understood, and
- How much patients get the help they wanted for pain.
As part of the pre-rulemaking process, CMS will post a list of quality measures later this year that are being considered to adopt. Measures on the MUC list will also move through consideration or endorsement processes at the National Quality Forum (NQF). Stay tuned for more updates HERE.
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“These measures get to the heart of what palliative care is about!”
—Public Comment
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Roundtable Sessions Feature NCP Guidelines
 The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness hosted two virtual public workshops on “Integrating Serious Illness Care into Primary Care Delivery,” June 10th and 17th. The workshops, that were led by and featured many Coalition leaders, examined the intersection between primary care and palliative care principles, practices, policies, and payment mechanisms and focused on the central role of primary care in providing high-quality care for people with serious illness.
Both webinars also featured and recommended using the National Consensus Project’s Clinical Practice Guidelines for Quality Palliative Care, 4th edition to help guide care in the field*.
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Sign-Up for PPC Now
 PPC NOW, the quarterly e-newsletter of the National Pediatric Palliative Care Task Force, recently launched has received great reviews. One reader commented, “There is so much great content here that I keep thinking of new people to forward it to.”
See the first issue HERE and subscribe below to receive the next issue directly in your inbox.
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New Consumer-focused Website
 Coalition member, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) launched their new consumer-focused website, CaringInfo.org that offers information on a breadth of topics related to serious illness and end-of-life care. The site includes information on hospice, palliative care, grief and bereavement, caregiving, planning ahead, and more.
News You Can Use
Two recent articles highlight policy trends influenced by many years of advocacy from the Coalition and our members.
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