Delaware Hospice chosen for Medicare model program

Delaware Hospice is one of the 141 organizations to participate in the Medicare Care Choices Model initiative of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The goal of the program is to provide patients and their families with greater flexibility in deciding between hospice care and curative treatment when faced with a life-limiting illness.

The Medicare Care Choice Model is designed to evaluate whether eligibleMedicare and dually eligible beneficiaries would elect to receive supportive care services typically provided by hospice if they could also continue to receive curative services. The Model will also evaluate if providing both palliative and curative care concurrently impacts quality of care, as well as patient and family healthcare satisfaction.

Through the current Medicare payment rules, individuals must choose between the support services provided through hospice care or curative treatment.

“This model empowers clinicians, beneficiaries, and their families with choices and is part of our broader efforts to transform our healthcare system into one that delivers better care, makes smarter payments, and puts patients in the center of their own care,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell. “We want to do what we can to help families find the care that is right for their loved one.”

Delaware Hospice will have two of its four regions participate in the MCCM program, Kent and Sussex Counties.