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AAPA Welcomes Bill to Increase Access to Hospice Care

2012-01-26

Alexandria, Va. – The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) welcomes the introduction of a bill, submitted today, allowing physician assistants (PAs) to provide hospice service to Medicare beneficiaries.
Reps. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Mike Thompson (D-CA) introduced HR 3831, the Medicare Hospice Care Access Act, on January 25 on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives.
AAPA President Robert Wooten commended Reps. Terry and Thompson, and said that if approved, the bill would remove a significant practice barrier for PAs and increase access to quality health care for those relying on Medicare.
“If physician assistants cannot provide hospice care for their terminally ill Medicare patients, then an undue burden falls on the patient to find alternative care. We cannot deny patients access to their ‘medical home’ at a time when they are the most vulnerable,” Wooten said.
For many Medicare beneficiaries, PAs’ inability to provide hospice care disrupts continuity of care at a time when the patient is vulnerable, forcing families to seek an alternative healthcare professional to manage this important end-of-life services.
Currently, federal law prohibits PAs from providing hospice care to beneficiaries, even though it is allowed by state law. The 1997 Balanced Budget Act made it clear that medical services provided by PAs, as allowed by state law, are covered by Medicare in all settings at a uniform rate. Unfortunately, the former Health Care Services Administration (now the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) determined that the PA Medicare provisions in the Act did not apply to hospice care. As a result, PAs are not allowed to provide hospice care for their patients, forcing families to seek alternative health professionals to provide and manage hospice care services at a time when their attention should be directed toward their family member needing that care.
Wooten said that AAPA will continue to actively build support for the bill.





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