Friday, July 26, 2019

New Office of Inspector General Report: Hospice Deficiencies Pose Risks to Medicare Beneficiaries

WHY WE DID THIS STUDY  

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified significant vulnerabilities in the Medicare hospice benefit and found that hospices did not always provide needed services to beneficiaries and sometimes provided poor quality care.  Click here to view report.

Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Palliative Care/Euthanasia Bill Moving

By Margaret Dore, Esq. (updated 12/10/19)

On January 17, 2019, the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act" was introduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No text was provided.

The Congressional website has since been updated with the posting of a complete bill, which is nearly identical to last session's H.R. 1676, as amended. (The companion bill was S. 693).

If enacted, the new bill, H.R. 647, will undermine the Office of the Inspector General's mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See for example, this link concerning last session's bills https://www.choiceillusionendtheabuse.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-help-committee-vote.html#more  

Sunday, January 20, 2019

US "Palliative Care" Act Has Been Reintroduced

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

The "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," formerly S. 693 and H.R. 1676, has been reintroduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647. I did not see a Senate version. The full text is not yet available.

The prior Act, if passed into law, would have undermined the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG's) mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See  https://www.choiceillusionendtheabuse.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-help-committee-vote.html#more  The Act was also a "springing" or closet euthanasia bill:

Thursday, January 10, 2019

Closet Euthansia Act May Be Moving


By Margaret Dore, Esq., MBA

Five days ago, an op-ed appeared in the New York Post advocating for Congressional passage of the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act."[1] The Act has not been introduced in the current (116th) Congress.[2] There are, however, rumors that it will be or that passage will occur by packaging it with other legislation. With the appearance of the op-ed, the veracity of these rumors is well founded.

The Act was introduced in the last (115th) Congress as H.R. 1676 and S. 693. Its stated purpose was to provide financial support for palliative care and hospice education centers, including direct patient care. The Act easily passed the House on a voice vote.[3]

There was and is, however, a catch.