Right now, many patients face the dilemma of delaying hospice enrollment or forgoing it altogether in order to continue receiving necessary blood transfusions, leading to increased costs and decreased end-of-life quality. By supporting H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of 2024, Members of Congress can help change that. This legislation gives members of Congress the opportunity to make a significant impact in the lives of patients with critical conditions like Leukemia who rely on blood transfusions as part of their end-of-life care.&nbsp;

Improve End-of-Life Care for Patients Needing Blood Transfusions

Urge Congress to Ensure Patients Receive the End-of-Life Care They Deserve

Ask Congress to support H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of 2024

Please cosponsor H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of 2024, to support expanding access to the Medicare hospice program for patients who rely on palliative blood transfusions.  

Blood transfusions are often a critical therapy as part of quality end-of-life care for patients with certain conditions such as Leukemia. Unfortunately, in order to continue to receive necessary blood transfusions for quality of life, patients often delay enrolling in the Medicare hospice program or forgo utilizing it altogether. By not enrolling in the Medicare hospice program, patients, their families, and caregivers are unable to receive holistic care, including pain management, education, and emotional and spiritual support. These patients are likely to spend their final days in the hospital emergency departments, inpatient bed, or ICU resulting in a dramatically increased cost to Medicare ($17,783 vs $7,662) with a notable decrease in end-of-life quality. 

While CMS has stated hospice providers may provide palliative blood transfusions, very few hospice providers actually provide blood transfusions due to the cost and complexity. The 2022 Medicare hospice patient rate for all services provided as part of routine home care (day 1-60) is $203.40. That’s less than the cost of a single blood transfusion.  This bill would provide reimbursement outside of the bundled rate to better reflect the cost of blood transfusions in a hospice setting. These changes would expand the availability of blood transfusions within the Medicare hospice program, thereby allowing those patients reliant on blood transfusions, and their families, to receive the benefits of end-of-life care provided through the Medicare hospice benefit, while maintaining the quality of life provided by blood transfusions. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter and I once again ask that you support H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of 2024.

Urge Congress to Ensure Patients Receive the End-of-Life Care They Deserve

Ask Congress to support H.R. 9803, the Hospice CARE Act of 2024

Message

Dear Office Holder (names will be automatically added on each email),