The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will pay for end-of-life services, bringing to a close a debate that started with "death panel" claims during negotiations over the Affordable Care Act and is ending with coverage for families so they can discuss the care patients receive when they are dying.
CMS on Friday said Medicare would reimburse for services tied to advanced care planning, breaking them off into two categories. The first is during a patient's "Welcome to Medicare" visit, which is scheduled when patients first enroll. This had already existed, but CMS found that many patients really didn't need advanced care planning when they first enrolled. Now, CMS has added an optional advanced planning service during any wellness visit.
The new codes for advanced care planning will be payable starting in 2016.
[Also: CMS would pay for end-of-life counseling under new rule]
"Establishing separate payment for advance care planning codes to recognize additional practitioner time to conduct these conversations provides beneficiaries and practitioners greater opportunity and flexibility to utilize these planning sessions at the most appropriate time for patients and their families," CMS officials said in the announcement.
The American Hospital Association on Friday said it supported the move.
"We are pleased that CMS is recognizing the important role that advanced care planning services play in encouraging Medicare providers and beneficiaries to discuss and communicate a beneficiary's treatment preferences," AHA Executive Vice President Tom Nickels said in a statement.
Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin, D-Michigan, also lauded CMS for the policy change.
"Families should be able to talk-through and understand these medical decisions with a knowledgeable practitioner of their choosing," he said in a statement. "By finalizing these codes today, the Administration has taken a meaningful step forward in access to advance care planning, helping patients make informed decisions deemed best by them and their families."
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