February 27, 2023 Washington, DC — Statement from Katie Smith Sloan, president and CEO, LeadingAge, the association of nonprofit providers of aging services, including hospice, on RAND research, “Association of Hospice Profit Status With Family Caregivers’ Reported Care Experiences,” published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, February 27, 2023:  

“Nonprofit providers of hospice care have long been standard bearers for quality care in the sector—as this research shows. The incredible value of mission-driven, nonprofit providers’ approach to hospice care has endured, even as the composition of the hospice sector evolves.

Using the lessons of our nonprofit hospice members, LeadingAge offered hospice benefit reform recommendations to Congressional leaders last month—designed to ensure that beneficiaries and families can access needed services, and providers of all types are sufficiently supported so they can deliver quality care to patients and their family caregivers.

Our proposals include: 1) allowing for expanded access to therapies while on hospice, 2) ensuring access to non-hospice palliative care under Part B, 3) creating easier access to inpatient hospice through a “room and board” level of care, 4) allowing at-home respite care at home, and 5) enhancing payment for short-stay, intensive patients.”

We represent more than 5,000 nonprofit aging services providers and other mission-minded organizations that touch millions of lives every day. Alongside our members and 38 state partners, we use applied research, advocacy, education, and community-building to make America a better place to grow old. Our membership, which now includes the providers of the Visiting Nurse Associations of America, encompasses the continuum of services for people as they age, including those with disabilities. We bring together the most inventive minds in the field to lead and innovate solutions that support older adults wherever they call home. For more information visit leadingage.org.