Photo: Edo Banach, NHPCO President and CEO
It is becoming clearer that Vice President Biden is America’s President-elect. I know that some are overjoyed and some are disheartened. I understand. But we are stronger together than we are apart, and people who are seriously ill, dying, or grieving need us to put our differences aside to care for them. In the coming weeks, we will work with the Biden transition team and the incoming 117th Congress to advance policies that improve access to high quality person-centered care and to advocate for improvements. Hospice started as a bi-partisan movement and it will continue to be one.
As the nation’s oldest and largest organization representing hospice and palliative care providers, and those they care for, NHPCO has a sacred obligation. In light of COVID-19, which has put a spotlight on the gaps in our health care system, it is more important than ever for hospice and palliative care to evolve to meet the needs of those who need it most. This includes a new, well-defined community-based palliative care benefit, a more flexible hospice benefit, a more equitable and inclusive benefit, and improved tools to track and incentivize high quality care.
Through NHPCO’s Quality Connections program, equity and inclusion activities, and Community-Based Palliative Care Model we will keep working on all of these (and other) fronts. We will also continue to work to assure that our providers have sufficient protective equipment, information, tests, therapeutics, and ultimately vaccinations to safely care for Americans in need.
We look forward to working with all of you. Onward!
Edo Banach, J.D.
President and CEO
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
Alexandria, Virginia
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