National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO)
The Care Planning Act of 2015 – S.578 — 114th Congress (2015-2016)
Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) and Senator Mark Warner (D-VA).
This proposed legislation strongly supported by NHPCO, provides a Medicare benefit for the team approach of care planning with healthcare professionals. Additionally it introduces a pilot program for home based support of patients with complex chronic conditions. These services would be paid for as Advanced Illness Coordination Services. The hospice organization has been a long term supporter of the need for patients to discuss their healthcare preferences with their families and healthcare support team. NHPCO president, Schumacher stated that “self-determination is at the core of the hospice philosophy and care model, and we believe that The Care Planning Act will allow some of our most vulnerable patients to have much more support and direction in their health care.”
The two senators introducing this bill have personal experiences with family members and thus their interest in bringing this to the Floor of the Senate.
Schumacher describes NHPCO “as an organization committed to increasing awareness of advance care planning. NHPCO provides free information and tools to the public. NHPCO’s Caring Info has state-specific advance directive forms and information on advance care planning that can be downloaded from its website www.caringinfo.org/stateaddownload. Each state’s advance directive is legally reviewed on an annual basis and meets each state’s statutory requirements.”
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