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• The legislation well known as PCHETA (Palliative Care and Hospice Education Training Act) was reintroduced by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) on May 19.  The legislation is described on Congress.gov as “a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to increase the number of permanent faculty in palliative care…

The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) was recently awarded a grant from the Peterson Center on Healthcare focusing on developing and disseminating recommendations to operationalize Core Principles for Care Models for those experiencing serious illness and their unpaid caregivers across CMS care models. The landscape of the current Administration supports innovative approaches to equity-driven…

Last month, C-TAC hosted a fascinating Member Meet-Up where Dr. Gloria Thomas Anderson from the “Let’s Talk About ACP” initiative highlighted the importance of sparking and sustaining dialogue around advanced care illness preparation and end-of-life planning within faith-based organizations in African American communities.   Dr. Anderson opened the discussion by detailing the origins of the…

In a recently published MA Rule, CMS acknowledges C-TAC comments. Below is a summary of the highlights from these final rules on the Medicare Program; Contract Year 2023 Policy and Technical Changes to the Medicare Advantage and Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit Programs: See the full report HERE – below are highlights where CMS acknowledges C-TAC…

At the C-TAC/ Harvard Petrie-Flom event on April 27, Medicaid Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Aditi Mallick, MD, declared unequivocally the desire of CMS to work with states in transforming Medicaid into a more community-based benefit. She articulated the three policy priorities for CMS—Coverage & Access, Equity, and Whole Person Innovation—and stated that they all point…

The American Rescue Plan Act has created an opportunity for states to expand home and community-based services (HCBS) as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This funding was designed to provide a federal match for critical infrastructure to ensure that people eligible for Medicaid can safely and independently remain in their homes while still receiving…

Support is needed for the new patient-reported quality measure “Felt Heard and Understood” developed by The National Coalition of Hospice and Palliative Care, AAHPM, and RAND. Once approved, it can be used in palliative care and other Medicare programs. Anyone can submit comments until 6pm ET on April 29, 2022, by signing up for a…