NPHI and C-TAC Launch Work on a Federal Community-Based Model to Expand Earlier, In-Home Support for Patients Nationwide

The National Partnership for Healthcare and Hospice Innovation (NPHI) and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC) have announced their commitment to developing a federal fee-for-service community-based palliative care model designed to expand access to care across the United States.

This initiative seeks to enhance early access to palliative care amid serious illnesses, addressing the limitations in community-based services that patients often encounter too late in their care journey. The partnership aims to create a sustainable, evidence-driven model for care delivery, aiming to fill gaps in consistent data and demonstrate the impact of early interventions.

For decades, access to palliative care in the U.S. has been hindered by a lack of sustainable reimbursement pathways. The proposed model intends to establish a framework that allows for earlier delivery of community-based palliative care, moving away from the current trend of patients receiving such services only late in their journey, typically after entering hospice care.

Tom Koutsoumpas, Founder and CEO of NPHI, expressed the importance of enabling patients to access high-quality palliative care before requiring hospice services, emphasizing the long-standing efforts in improving access. Bill Novelli, Co-Founder & Co-Chair of C-TAC, noted that many patients and families navigate serious illnesses without the necessary support that community-based palliative care can provide, highlighting the need for partnerships to broaden this access.

NPHI and C-TAC plan to collaborate with federal leaders and various private sector stakeholders to develop a clear understanding of palliative care, identify at-risk populations, and define effective delivery methods within a sustainable reimbursement model. Cameron Muir, MD, Chief Medical & Innovation Officer at NPHI, pointed out the significance of a community-based palliative care model within fee-for-service Medicare to better support beneficiaries with high needs.