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Co-chairs and co-founders of the Comprehensive Care Caucus, Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), John Barrasso (R-WY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and Deb Fischer (R-NE), have introduced two bills that carry promising implications for those living with serious illness and their families. The Expanding Access to Palliative Care Act and the Improving Access to Transfusion Care for Hospice…

Hawai’i is actively pursuing a Medicaid benefit for community-based palliative care (as part of an 1115 CMS waiver) thanks to the grassroots efforts of C-TAC members Kokua Mau and Hui Pohala working with the Hawai’i Department of Health Services Med-QUEST Division (MQD) and with the financial support from the Stupski Foundation.    This is an exciting opportunity as a statewide effort in California resulted…

Our movement is the impetus for action to improve the lives of those living with serious illness around the nation. This was on full display in 2019, when Susan Ponder-Stansel, President and CEO of Alivia Care Inc., stood on the stage of the C-TAC Summit and committed to launching a state-wide serious illness coalition in…

By: Sabreen Huq, C-TAC Partnerships & Programs Intern Founded in 2014 by Dr. Naheed Dosani, the Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) program is a supportive palliative service advanced by the Inner City Health Associates (ICHA). Aimed at meeting the complex needs of people experiencing subsequent housing insecurity and serious illness, PEACH focuses…

In Being Mortal, Dr. Atul Gawande writes about a man who wants to continue living as long as he can eat chocolate ice cream and watch football, his idea of a good ending. Inspired by Being Mortal and his mother’s negative end of-life-experience, Doug Renfield-Miller founded the nonprofit GoodEnding, Inc. in 2015 to ensure that…

Everyday thousands of children are born with some sort of life-limiting disease that alters the course of their life dramatically. Doctors’ appointments, surgeries, at home care around the clock; it can all become overwhelming on the child and the other family members. For 11 years now, Phoenix-based nonprofit Ryan House embraces all children and their…

Dr. Meena Seshamani has been appointed to serve as CMS Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicare. “We congratulate Dr. Sheshamani on her appointment,” says Jon Broyles, C-TAC CEO. “As a former policy maker and leader in a progressive health system, Dr. Sheshamani brings passion, commitment, and robust frontline experience critical to transforming care for people…

Supporting trusted community leaders to address disparities in serious illness care  By: Tracy E. Hopkins  Michelle Cox lives in an impoverished but proud community in Louisville, Kentucky. The 41-year-old call center worker is the primary caretaker for her 67-year-old mother who was a custodian at the University of Louisville for 30 years. Cox’s mother Cheryl suffers…

Lila Kirchhoff is a rising senior at Hamilton College pursuing a B.A. in Public Policy and Anthropology. She hopes to combine her areas of study to tackle disconnects between healthcare policies and those most impacted by them. At Hamilton, Lila participates in a range of volunteer opportunities, the majority of which include working with individuals…