Legislative Information Center
| Care Planning Act | |
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| The Care Planning Act would provide much needed assistance to individuals with serious health conditions by giving them access to more information about potential treatment options and ensuring that the course of treatment they arrive at is consistent with their personal goals, values and preferences.
The bill would create a new benefit under Medicare that embodies key elements that have proven tremendously effective in empowering individuals to make deliberate and thoughtful decisions on the course of care that is right for them. The elements include the use of an interdisciplinary team and allowing for a series of discussions with a variety of experts. The Care Planning Act would remove some of the overwhelming confusion and anxiety that so often accompany health care decision making, and assure that an individual’s chosen treatment plan is communicated among care providers. |
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| Care Planning Act One-Pager | |
| Care Planning Act Section by Section | |
| Hospice CARE Act Seeks to Refine Hospice Face-to-Face Requirements | |
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| The Hospice Commitment to Accurate and Relevant Encounters Act — Hospice CARE addresses key issues related to the requirement that hospice providers conduct a face-to-face encounter with patients entering their third or subsequent benefit period to gather information that helps support documentation of continuing eligibility for hospice care. | |
| Hospice CARE Act Issue Brief | |
| NAHC’s Hospice CARE Act Letter of Support | |
| Oppose Medicare Home Health Copays and Payment Cuts | |
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| NAHC urges all home care advocates to ask their members of Congress to “Reject proposals that would impose home health copays and payment cuts to offset the cost of fixing the Medicare physician payment formula, to reduce the deficit, or for other purposes.” | |
| Home Health Copay Issue Brief | |
| Home Health Copay Talking Points | |
| Home Health Payments Issue Brief/Talking Points | |
| Co-payment White Paper | |
| A Home Health Co-Payment: Affected Beneficiaries and Potential Impacts | |
| Potential Impact of a Home Health Co-Payment on Other Medicare Spending | |
| NAHC Statement to E&C Subcommittee on Health | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Preserve Access to Home Health Care | |
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| Ensure that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) preserves adequate and appropriate payment for Medicare home health services and does not impose unreasonable regulatory burdens that would restrict access to care. | |
| 1) Urge Lawmakers to Require CMS to Reconsider Home Health PPS Rebasing Rule | |
| Home Health Rebasing Overview | |
| Rebasing Reform Proposal Talking Points | |
| 2014-2017 Projections State National 3-13-14 | |
| 2014-2017 Projections Congressional District 3-13-14 | |
| House Home Health Rebasing Dear Colleague Letter 9-17-14 | |
| Home Health Rebasing Relief Letter to House Leadership | |
| House Home Health Rebasing Dear Colleague Letter 3-6-2014 | |
| House Home Health Rebasing Letter | |
| Senate Home Health Rebasing Letter | |
| Senate Small Business Committee Chair Rebasing Letter | |
| Senate Minority Leader Rebasing Letter | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| 2) Urge that CMS take the following actions to resolve serious issues arising from implementation of the face-to-face physician encounter requirement (F2F) for home health services: | |
| a) Phase-in the new F2F documentation requirements by issuing comprehensive guidance on compliance and education of physicians and home health agencies before instituting full enforcement | |
| NAHC F2F Phase-In Letter to CMS | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| b) Reverse past F2F claim denials and stop future audits related to the physician narrative requirement | |
| Senate Face-to-Face Letter to CMS | |
| House Face-to-Face Letter to CMS 2013 | |
| House Face-to-Face Letter to CMS 2014 | |
| Talking Points/Issue Brief | |
| Home Care Face-to-Face Mandate: A Major Problem, a Simple Fix | |
| Face-to-Face Documentation Survey Results | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Hospice: Protect the Medicare Hospice Benefit | |
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| NAHC urges hospice advocates to tell Congress to “Protect the Medicare Hospice Benefit.” | |
| Issue Background/Talking Points | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Allow NP/PAs to Order Home Health Services | |
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| Ask your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the Home Health Care Planning Improvement Act (S 445/HR 1825), which would allow Nurse Practitioners, Advanced Practice Nurses, and Physician Assistants to sign Medicare home health care plans. | |
| Issue Brief/Talking Points | |
| House Dear Colleague Letter | |
| Senate Dear Colleague Letter | |
| New Report Projects Substantial Medicare Savings from Allowing NPs/PAs to Sign Home Health Plans of Care. | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Extend the Home Health Rural Add-On | |
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| Urge your Members of Congress to support efforts to extend the Medicare home health rural add-on. | |
| Issue Brief/Talking Points | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Oppose Proposals to Cut Federal Funding for Medicaid | |
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| NAHC urges home care and hospice advocates to ask their Members of Congress to protect access to home care and hospice for low income Medicaid beneficiaries by opposing proposals that would reduce federal Medicaid funding. | |
| Issue Brief/Talking Points | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Modify Employer Responsibilities in the ACA to Address Home Care-Specific Needs | |
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| 1) Ask your Members of Congress to modify the employer responsibilities in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) to protect access to home care. | |
| Issue Brief/Talking Points | |
| 2) Urge your Legislators to support legislation that would define full time for purposes of the ACA as 40 hours a week | |
| Statement on the Introduction of the Forty Hours Is Full Time Act | |
| 40 Hours Is Full Time endorsement letter | |
| Contact Your Legislators! | |
| Expand the Home Health Caucus | |
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| Congressmen Jim McGovern (D-MA) and Walter Jones (R-NC) are again asking their colleagues in the House of Representatives to join the Congressional Home Health Caucus. NAHC urges all home care advocates to reach out to their representatives and remind them to join the caucus today. | |
| Dear Colleague Letter from Congressmen McGovern and Jones | |
