The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) welcomes the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) increased emphasis on patient choice through its consideration of Advance Care Planning (ACP) quality measure MUC2025-020 for the Home Health Quality Reporting Program. ACP is essential to ensuring patients receive the education they need to make informed decisions about their care and receive the right care at the right time based on their unique circumstances and goals.
While the Alliance supports the measure’s intent, we are seeking feedback from our members to assist us in better evaluating its specifications, including an analysis of numerator and denominator definitions. The measure under consideration (MUC) would not be applicable to the Hospice Quality Reporting Program, despite ACP being fundamental to high-quality hospice care. Of note, while physicians and qualified health care practitioners are able to receive payment for advance care planning discussions, there is no payment mechanism for ACP conversations completed by home health agencies, leaving them without appropriate compensation for this vital patient service in contrast to other settings where this MUC would also be applicable.
MUC2025-020 is being considered, among other measures, as part of the Measures Under Consideration process, the annual pre-rulemaking process for measures that may be utilized in CMS’ various quality reporting and value-based payment programs. The Alliance is currently evaluating the full impact of all measures on care at home providers and gathering feedback from across hospice, palliative, and home health care.
The Alliance looks forward to sharing insights on these measures and working with CMS to ensure they support patient preference and enable successful provider implementation.
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About the National Alliance for Care at Home
The National Alliance for Care at Home (the Alliance) is the leading authority in transforming care in the home. As an inclusive thought leader, advocate, educator, and convener, we serve as the unifying voice for providers and recipients of home care, home health, hospice, palliative care, and Medicaid home and community-based services throughout all stages of life. Learn more at www.AllianceForCareAtHome.org.
Press Contact
communications@allianceforcareathome.org
Hannah Kristan | 202-355-1647