Protect Hospice Payments and Access to End-of-Life Care!

From NHPCO

As you may have seen, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released a draft rule in April which proposes updates to the hospice wage index, payment rates, and aggregate cap amount for the coming fiscal year. For the hospice payment update percentage for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), CMS is only proposing an increase of 2.7%.
 
We know that hospices around the country have been facing unprecedented challenges and heightened costs over the last few years, with no real respite in sight. New data released today showed a historically high inflation rate of 9.1% in June. Energy prices, including gas, are up 41.6% for the year, the largest 12-month increase since April 1980. We know this hits hospices particularly hard, as staff drive to patients to meet their needs at home. 

This 2.7% proposal by CMS fails to acknowledge the reality that many hospices are experiencing. Additionally, hospices are now facing a 2% Medicare payment reduction due to the sequestration cut that went into effect on July 1. All of this means that hospices are effectively facing a payment cut and being asked to do less with more.

[NHPCO] and HAN sent a letter joined by several other organizations to Congressional leadership, urging them to call on CMS to provide a more appropriate hospice payment rate increase in their FY23 final rule. 

This proposal by CMS could have detrimental consequences. It may force some hospices to close and jeopardize access to necessary, high quality end-of-life care for individuals who need it. As a hospice and palliative care advocate, we need your help to raise the alarm about this. 

[Please] take a minute to complete our action alert: https://www.hospiceactionnetwork.org/take-action/#/66