Delaware Hospice’s CEO Advocates on Capitol Hill for Patients & Families Facing End-of-Life

Susan D. Lloyd, President and CEO of Delaware Hospice and other hospice advocates from across the nation last week urged Congress to protect access to compassionate and high-quality end-of-life care for all Americans.  Lloyd joined her fellow advocates in Washington D.C. as part of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's (NHPCO) Capitol Hill Day 2010.

Lloyd met with the Congressional offices of Senator Carper, Senator Kaufman, and Representative Castle to discuss the value of hospice care to patients and their families in Delaware.  During the meeting, she encouraged Congress to support efforts to stop cuts to hospice programs nationwide, especially smaller programs in more rural areas.

"Following healthcare reform and the cuts which the hospice community are slated to sustain as a result of Medicare payment reform, Hill Day was a great opportunity to educate our Members of Congress about the value that we, as hospice providers, bring to Delaware's patients and families facing the end-of-life," Lloyd said.

Over the past two years, the hospice community has been facing rate cuts on two fronts-regulatory cuts enacted in October 2009 that eliminated a key component of the Medicare hospice reimbursement known as the Budget Neutrality Adjustment Factor (BNAF) and, more recently, cuts slated to be enacted in 2013 as a result of the healthcare reform bill passed last month.  This year, they are working together to educate policy makers on how the hospice community will be impacted by the combined 14.3% reductions.

"In the aftermath of healthcare reform, NHPCO's Capitol Hill Day 2010 was just the beginning of our efforts this year to educate Members of Congress on the hospice community's value and uniqueness as compared with other healthcare provider groups.  Over 1.4 million patients and their families depend on compassionate end-of-life care from hospice programs in communities throughout the country," said J. Donald Schumacher, NHPCO President and CEO.  "It is important that Congress know the importance of hospice to their constituents so they can take an active role in preserving compassionate end-of-life care for generations to come."

For more information on Delaware Hospice, visit www.delawarehospice.org.  To learn more about NHPCO's Hospice Action Network and the hospice community's advocacy efforts nationwide, visit www.hospiceactionnetwork.org.

About Delaware Hospice

Since 1982, Delaware Hospice has provided exceptional care and support to nearly 35,000 patients and their families.  Its mission is to help each patient, each day, live the fullest, most comfortable life possible.  Delaware Hospice is the largest and only licensed, nonprofit, community-based hospice serving New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties in Delaware and southern Chester and Delaware counties in Pennsylvania.  For more information about Delaware Hospice's programs and services, upcoming events, or employment opportunities, call 800-838-9800 or visit our website, www.delawarehospice.org.

About the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

NHPCO is the oldest and largest nonprofit, leadership organization representing hospice and palliative care programs and professionals in the United States.  NHPCO's mission is to lead and mobilize social change for improved care at the end of life.