WASHINGTON D.C. – On Monday, bipartisan legislation authored by U.S. Reps. Mike Thompson (D-CA-5) and Tom Reed (R-NY-23) to improve access to quality hospice care was signed into law by President Obama at a White House ceremony.

Thompson and Reed’s Hospice Opportunities for Supporting Patients with Integrity and Care Evaluations (HOSPICE) Act was included in the Improving Medicare Post-Acute Care Transformation (IMPACT) Act of 2014.

“This law will strengthen accountability and transparency at hospice facilities so that patients receive the highest quality care possible,” said Thompson. “By putting these accountability measures in place, we are improving hospice centers and providing patients and their families the peace of mind that they will be able to depend on the care they receive.”

The HOSPICE Act requires a three-year recertification cycle for hospice facilities as opposed to the current six to eight-year timeframe.

This enhanced time-frame is designed to improve accountability and make sure hospice centers are attentive to the changing needs of patient care.

This also will improve quality of care by helping hospice providers see where improvements are needed.

According to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) examined hospice survey frequency in 2007 and 2013 and found that the existing intervals and resources were inadequate.  The mandatory survey frequency in HOSPICE Act is consistent with the OIG recommendations.

The HOSPICE Act also allows the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to conduct a medical review of hospice programs that reach a threshold of patients under care for more than 180 days. The threshold would be established by CMS.

This provision will help make sure patients at high-volume hospice centers are receiving quality care.

Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.