Statements on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

Mr. WYDEN. Mr. President, this is far from the first time I have spoken in this Chamber about the importance of providing hospice benefits and those workers who help provide them tirelessly every day. Today I'm pleased to introduce legislation to strengthen the hospice program so that these critical benefits will continue to be available for those in the final stages of life.

Hospice care provides humane and comforting support for over 744,000 terminally ill patients and their families each year. These services include pain control, palliative medical care and social, emotional and spiritual services.

Hospice supports the basic human needs for feeling comfortable, in a familiar environment, surrounded by loving caregivers and family during the later stages of life. Hospice care is an effective model for the interaction of interdisciplinary teams of health professionals, family members and volunteers in providing care for those needing care in our communities.

Our country strives to provide exceptional support for the sick, elderly and terminally ill in home and hospice settings. These vulnerable individuals, as well as their family caregivers, are indebted to the many professionals and volunteers who have made it their life's work to serve those in greatest need. Nearly 83,000 hospice professionals, 46,000 hospice volunteers and 1 million home health providers, nationally, contribute significantly to our health care system through their compassion and commitment.

It is because of these professionals and volunteers that seniors continue to have access to this vital service. And it is with these committed people in mind that Senator Roberts and I introduce legislation that will help sustain the future of hospice care.

Specifically, The Hospice Evaluation and Legitimate Payment Act creates a ``do no harm'' demonstration that evaluates proposed payment changes to hospices at 15 different sites before going into effect. With an estimated 66% of hospices looking down a road to negative operating margins by 2019, Congress must act to ensure hospice doors remain open. Testing payment changes can do that.

The HELP Act also allows nurse practitioners and physicians assistants to sign-off on the required face-to-face encounter. This expansion ensures program integrity while also preserving access to services, especially in rural areas where great distances can create unwanted impediments.

Finally, the HELP Act calls for increased accountability. Instead of a hospice submitting a survey every eight years, this legislation implements the recommendation of the OIG, and increases submission to once every 3 years.

We need to support new ways to treat a very ill patient physically and emotionally, long before the last days of life. We need to make sure doctors are not afraid of using pain medications to make people comfortable and, most of all, we need to make sure people start the conversations with their families and doctors about having a better death and using hospice as early as possible. None of these options for changing the standards of end-of-life care delivery can occur if hospices cannot continue to operate. The HELP Act makes that more possible.

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