NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021 - 11

In terms of representing the provider community, it is
helpful to remember that NHPCO is the largest
membership organization representing the entire
spectrum of hospice and palliative care programs and
professionals in the United States. NHPCO represents
over 4,000 hospice locations with more than 57,000
hospice staff and millions of volunteers, as well as 48
state hospice and palliative care organizations.
NHPCO and our advocacy affiliate Hospice Action
Network (HAN) are working with members, state
organizations, other national health care
organizations, and all relevant stakeholders to
advance our legislative and regulatory agenda amid
the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We urge Congress and the Administration to
support the following policies that will promote
access to high quality hospice and palliative care for
patients and families in need across our
communities and make improvements to the U.S.
healthcare system.

Protect Care for Patients and Families
during COVID-19 Pandemic
▌	 PPE, Testing, Vaccines: Provide adequate
supplies of PPE, testing and vaccines to ensure
the priority and safety of frontline hospice
workers and caregivers and the patients and
families they serve while mitigating risk of
infection in communities. This enables providers
to focus their resources on ensuring
uninterrupted care for all Americans facing
serious illness.
▌	 Flexibilities: Extend and expand upon flexibilities
issued through legislation and waivers that allow
services to be provided through telehealth, allow
flexibility in training and assessment, and add
flexibility in therapeutics administration.*

▌	 Increase Respite Care Services: Provide
additional flexibility on the location and duration
of respite care for hospice providers. *
▌	 Economic Support and Provider Relief Fund:
Provide economic support through CARES Act,
sequestration moratorium, and other legislative
and regulatory vehicles. Ensure reporting
requirements do not improperly penalize
providers seeking economic relief through the
CARES Act Provider Relief Fund. *
▌	 Audits during PHE: Suspend routine audits during
the public health emergency (PHE) to allow
already stretched providers to direct all needed
resources to patient care.

Make Meaningful Reforms to Improve
Access, Health Equity, and Inclusivity
▌	 Equity and Inclusion: Reduce racial disparities in
access to hospice and palliative care and
promote health equity by educating providers
and offering culturally-appropriate outreach
resources to beneficiaries.
▌	 Eligibility: Reform six-month prognosis barrier to
tie hospice eligibility to need, not an arbitrary
time limit.*
▌	 Hospice Access Issues in Rural and Underserved
Areas: Expand access to hospice care in rural
areas and underserved areas through
implementation of new billing rules for rural
health clinics (RHCs) and federally qualified
health centers (FQHCs) under the Rural Access
to Hospice Act.
▌	 Strengthen Workforce: Increase education and
training programs that help stem health care
professional shortages in the hospice and
palliative care fields.*

▌	 Expand Bereavement Services: Expand coverage
of bereavement services by hospice and
palliative care providers for communities in need
including veterans and COVID-19 survivors and
families. *

Newsline / Spring 2021

11
https://www.hospiceactionnetwork.org/ https://www.hospiceactionnetwork.org/
NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of NHPCO NewsLine Spring 2021
