There has been an exciting development in the 110th Congress. In late February, New York’s Rep. Ed Towns and Pennsylvania’s Rep. Phil English re-introduced legislation that would allow PAs, as delegated by a physician, to order home health, hospice, and skilled nursing facility care, as well as to provide hospice care to beneficiaries who elect the hospice benefit. H.R. 1178, the Physician Assistants Continuity of Care Act, is pending before the House Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees. The AAPA and PAs from around the country are working closely with Members of Congress and their staff to encourage cosponsorship of this important legislation, with the hope of seeing its passage during the 110th Congress.
We need YOUR help – as a PA whose Representative sits on the powerful Ways and Means and Energy and Commerce Committees – to shore up support for the bill and encourage its passage in the 110th Congress.
Take Action today!
Please contact your Representative TODAY, and urge him or her to cosponsor and support H.R. 1178, the Physician Assistants Continuity of Care Act. To send a message directly to your Representative from AAPA's Legislative Action Center, visit http://members.aapa.org/vocus/index.htm and scroll down to click on "Support HR 1178" under Currrent Issues. You can also call your Member of Congress by dialing the Capitol switchboard at 202-225-3121, and ask to be connected to his/her office.
Background:
Currently, PAs are not allowed to order home health or hospice care services for patients who are Medicare beneficiaries. PAs are also not allowed to order post-hospital extended care services in skilled nursing facilities or provide hospice care to beneficiaries who elect the hospice benefit. Thus, Medicare patients who use a PA as their medical home – in many cases, a relationship that spans a decade or more – and who have reached perhaps the most critical medical decision of their lives, are not able to seek this end-of-life care with the primary care provider they know – their PA.
H.R. 1178 will ensure continuity of care for Medicare beneficiaries who receive medical care by PAs by permitting PAs, as delegated by a physician, to order hospice, home health, or SNF care for Medicare beneficiaries and to provide hospice care for beneficiaries who elect the hospice benefit. The bill does not change the current structure of the physician-PA relationship or PAs’ scope of practice.
Please contact your Representative today and urge him or her to support H.R. 1178, and ensure continuity of care for Medicare beneficiaries.
Questions? Please contact Sandy Harding, Director, AAPA Federal Affairs, at Sandra@aapa.org , (703) 836-2272, ext. 3205, or Kristin Butterfield, Assistant Director, kbutterfield@aapa.org , (703) 836-2272, ext. 3223.
Many thanks for your advocacy in action!
