NPHI Outlines Healthcare Priorities for Biden Administration with Not-For-Profit Hospice CEOs
WASHINGTON (February 10, 2021) – The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI), the national voice for not-for-profit hospice and palliative care providers, hosted a private meeting among the organization’s member CEOs to highlight the Biden administration’s key healthcare policy priorities. The discussion took place as part of the organization’s Winter CEO Meeting and featured insight from health policy expert Lauren Aronson, former policy director in the Office of Health Reform under President Obama and former director in the office of legislation at the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
During the meeting, Aronson described how the Biden administration is focused on creating a plan to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine and building a robust supply chain infrastructure to support the roll-out. Aronson also highlighted how the Biden administration is expected to announce the nominee for CMS Secretary who will work to advance many of the priorities outlined during President Biden’s campaign, including building on and expanding the Affordable Care Act, reducing the price of prescription drugs, and lowering the age of Medicare eligibility from 65 to 60.
Aronson noted that key lawmakers on Capitol Hill, congressional committee staff, and those overseeing the Biden administration’s health policy portfolio are very familiar with the “clear difference between profit and non-profit hospice providers.” She also predicted that the administration will look at innovative models of delivery reform which could include hospice.
“Now is the time to distinguish ourselves,” said Tom Koutsoumpas, chief executive officer of NPHI. “Now is the time to double down more than ever about our passion for the mission we all play in serving our communities when no others will. We must make sure that the future of care our members are providing isn’t diluted by those getting into hospice care simply for profit, which is happening all too often.”
In addition, Aronson also outlined how senior executives in the hospice industry should continue engaging in existing conversations with CMS while the agency waits for its next administrator, noting the Biden administration has an “immense amount of respect for civil servants [at the agency]” and agency staff being “viewed as a partnership.”
About the National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation
The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) is a collaborative of 70+ not-for-profit, community-integrated, hospice and palliative care providers from across the United States who play a unique role as a crucial safety net for the sickest, most vulnerable patients in the communities they serve. For more information, visit www.hospiceinnovations.org.