Patients With Advanced Illness Have a New Choice for Living Better

Patients with advanced illness have a new choice for living better 

Community Hospice providing concurrent care as part of new option for Medicare beneficiaries

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Community Hospice of Northeast Florida is one of only 141 hospice providers nationwide participating in the Medicare Care Choices Model – a new option that allows Medicare beneficiaries to receive curative and comfort care at the same time.

“The model is part of a larger effort across the nation to transform the U.S. health care system to deliver better care, spend dollars more efficiently and put patients in the center of their care, all efforts we strive for at Community Hospice,” said Susan Ponder-Stansel, president and CEO of Community Hospice. “It’s exciting to be a part of a program that looks to better outcomes, offers more options and honors patient choices.”

All eligible hospices across the country were invited to apply to participate in the model. Due to robust interest, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) expanded the model from an originally anticipated 30 Medicare-certified hospices to more than 140 Medicare-certified hospices and extended the duration of the model from three to five years. CMS anticipates as many as 150,000 eligible Medicare beneficiaries who meet certain criteria may experience this new option and the flexibility it offers. Those with advanced cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), congestive heart failure (CHF) and human immunodeficiency virus/ acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) may be eligible.

Community Hospice – through Community Care Choices – began providing services Jan. 1, 2016 as a member of the first phase of the model; the second phase launches in January 2018. Participating hospices will provide services under the model that are currently available under the Medicare hospice benefit for routine home care and respite levels of care, but cannot be separately billed under Medicare Parts A, B and D. Services will be available around the clock, 365 calendar days per year and CMS will pay a per beneficiary per month fee ranging from $200 to $400 to participating hospices when delivering these services under the model.

For more information, visit http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Medicare-Care-Choices/ or call Community Care Choices at 904.407.7750.