Humana Begins Coverage of Hospice Services as Part of Medicare Demonstration
11 February 2021 - 1:00AM
Business Wire
Humana offering hospice benefit to Medicare
Advantage members on select plans in five markets
Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) has begun evaluating a new way of
offering hospice services to members of select Medicare Advantage
plans in an attempt to provide greater continuity of care,
additional transitional services and access to palliative support
for patients with advanced illness.
As part of a four-year demonstration created by the U.S. Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Humana’s program is
intended to help the company and CMS learn whether hospice services
provided within the Part A benefits package of Medicare results in
additional innovation, enables a more seamless care continuum and
improves quality and timely access to palliative and hospice care.
Humana started offering the new benefit on select plans on January
1, 2021, in order to ease care transitions and ensure
hospice-eligible patients who need it can receive the full benefits
of hospice care.
Humana is offering the hospice benefit to Medicare Advantage
(MA) members enrolled in certain MA plans in Atlanta, Cleveland,
Denver, the Louisville, Ky., metro area (including Southern
Indiana), and the Richmond-Tidewater region of Virginia. While
hundreds of hospice providers are supporting the delivery of the
hospice benefit, Humana has contracted with a preferred network of
providers that are partnering on the delivery of additional
benefits to support members during their hospice care.
“Humana is committed to what we call human care, part of which
is simplifying the health care experience for all of our members,”
said Susan Diamond, President of Humana’s Home business. “This
means removing barriers to the care they need at all stages of
their lives and eliminating financial and coverage surprises.”
“Too often, patients electing hospice care do so in the final
days or weeks of life, rather than at the start of their
eligibility. As a result, they and their families miss an
opportunity to take full advantage of a wide range of benefits,
including improved access to palliative care and caregiver support,
as well as important transitional care services. Our goal is to
allow for a single continuous care team, as opposed to the handoffs
that typically occur today,” Diamond added.
As it stands now, when a patient with advanced illness who is
receiving palliative care elects hospice, they move to a new care
team based on the hospice provider selected. Under the
demonstration model, Humana hopes to create continuity as members
transition from advanced illness to palliative to hospice, ideally
with the support of the same care team.
Patients electing hospice under fee-for-service coverage today
have to forego all curative, transitional concurrent care, whereas
the demonstration allows for transitional care to eliminate such an
abrupt end to this care and provide greater access to the many
additional benefits provided under hospice services. “We recognize
the burden families often face at this time and are providing
additional respite services to caregivers, allowing patients to
remain safely in their home,” Diamond said.
The model also is designed to lengthen the time members are
enrolled in hospice care, allowing them to remain in their home and
avoid costly and often unnecessary hospitalizations near the end of
life. More time in hospice means they and their families/caregivers
can make full use of services that focus on their wishes and which
include alleviation of pain, bereavement planning, respite care,
spiritual matters, and other services. Under CMS guidelines,
hospice benefits can last up to six months, but they can be
continued indefinitely if the patient’s condition remains
terminal.
Humana has created a web page for health care providers to
explain the pilot program in detail, along with a list of the
specific plans and markets where the pilot is running, at Medicare
Hospice Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) - Humana.
The demonstration continues through 2024, and Humana plans to
expand the demonstration in 2022 to reach more members, pending
approval from CMS in their annual application process.
About Humana Humana Inc. is committed to helping our
millions of medical and specialty members achieve their best
health. Our successful history in care delivery and health plan
administration is helping us create a new kind of integrated care
with the power to improve health and well-being and lower costs.
Our efforts are leading to a better quality of life for people with
Medicare, families, individuals, military service personnel, and
communities at large.
To accomplish that, we support physicians and other health care
professionals as they work to deliver the right care in the right
place for their patients, our members. Our range of clinical
capabilities, resources and tools – such as in-home care,
behavioral health, pharmacy services, data analytics and wellness
solutions – combine to produce a simplified experience that makes
health care easier to navigate and more effective.
More information regarding Humana is available to investors via
the Investor Relations page of the company’s web site at
www.humana.com including copies of:
- Annual reports to stockholders
- Securities and Exchange Commission filings
- Most recent investor conference presentations
- Quarterly earnings news releases and conference calls
- Calendar of events
- Corporate Governance information
Y0040_GNHL4B9EN_C
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210210005181/en/
Cary B. Willis Humana Corporate Communications (502) 905-5860
cwillis21@humana.com
Humana (NYSE:HUM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jun 2024 to Jul 2024
Humana (NYSE:HUM)
Historical Stock Chart
From Jul 2023 to Jul 2024