WASHINGTON, DC - Today, 10 Democratic Members of the House Ways and Means Committee sent a letter to Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt pressing the agency to finalize codes for advance care planning in the upcoming final 2016 Physician Fee Schedule, which would allow physicians to be reimbursed for these services. Advanced care planning helps patients and their families discuss end-of-life medical care preferences with their providers.
“For advance care planning to be successful, it must involve ongoing communication about future care preferences among individuals, their families and caregivers, and their health care providers," the Members wrote.
“We encourage CMS to finalize these codes in the upcoming final 2016 PFS. Giving patients the necessary time to have these complex conversations with providers is an important step in encouraging patients and their families to engage in end-of-life discussions and decisions."
The full letter can be found here. The letter was led by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) and Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI), and joined by Reps. Ron Kind (D-WI), John Lewis (D-GA), Bill Pascrell, Jr. (D-NJ), Mike Thompson (D-CA), Jim McDermott (D-WA), John B. Larson (D-CT), Charles B. Rangel (D-NY), and Linda Sánchez (D-CA).
