As we hinted last month, we’re grateful to share another big award from the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for one of our clients, Community Health Network. Its Community Home Health division has been selected by CMS to participate in the Medicare Care Choices Model (MCCM). The model provides beneficiaries who qualify for coverage under the Medicare Hospice Benefit or Medicaid Hospice Benefit the option to receive hospice services while continuing to receive curative services. This is a huge step forward in hospice care, as the traditional model doesn’t allow for curative and hospice benefits at the same time.

Community Health Network will begin its MCCM program, “Life’s Journey: Transitions,” on January 1, 2016, enabling hundreds of patients to initiate hospice services at a more appropriate time in the disease progression. Words for Good is proud to have prepared the application that resulted in this award, but most importantly, is grateful for the opportunities it will provide for ill patients and their caregivers. Transitions will help alleviate the fear of hospice, facilitate earlier hospice referrals, and reduce Medicare expenditures.

For additional information on the model or list of participating hospices, visit http://innovation.cms.gov/initiatives/Medicare-Care-Choices/ and http://www.cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-07-20.html.