Volume XXX, Number 8
 August 2015

Medicare Care Choices Model

Through the Medicare Care Choices Model, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will provide a new option for Medicare beneficiaries to receive palliative care services from certain hospice providers while concurrently receiving services provided by their curative care providers. CMS will evaluate whether providing hospice services can improve the quality of life and care received by Medicare beneficiaries, increase patient satisfaction, and reduce Medicare expenditures.

Under current payment rules, Medicare and dually eligible beneficiaries are required to forgo curative care in order to receive services under the Medicare or Medicaid Hospice Benefit.

Fewer than half of eligible Medicare beneficiaries use hospice care and most only for a short period of time.

The model is designed to:

• Increase access to supportive care services provided by hospice;
• Improve quality of life and patient/family satisfaction;
• Inform new payment systems for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.

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