News Briefs – APRIL 2024
by INELDA
Losing Trust in Healthcare as Access Declines
A recent article from KFC News and NPR documented the increasing distrust of patients in the United States. With a nationwide shortage of doctors and others who provide primary care, individuals are either utilizing heavily burdened emergency rooms and community health centers and/or opting out of primary care. As one example, the article noted that the 1,400 community health centers (also known as federally qualified health centers or FQHCs) that serve the nation’s most vulnerable lost 5% of their workforce during a six-month period in 2022. Another 15% of these centers reported losing between a quarter to half of their doctors and nurses during that same period. As care providers are asked by their companies to “prioritize patient volume over quality of care,” burnout is forcing them from the field, leaving patients waiting extended periods for appointments and becoming disenchanted with the overall healthcare system experience.
Caregivers Supported Through Telehealth
Hospice News reported on a study in the American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine that focused on caregivers of hospitalized patients who reside in rural communities. Participants in the eight-week study received video and phone calls, as well as texts from a palliative care-certified registered nurse. The study showed success in reducing the financial costs of transitional palliative care. According to the article, hospice providers, industry groups, and other stakeholders have been advocating to Congress for increased federal support to strengthen end-of-life and serious illness care among rural populations. With the pandemic-era telehealth reimbursement increase set to expire, the federal government is seeking ways to maintain the funding boost. Before that can happen, more collaboration with state governments is required.
California and Hawaii Paving the Way for Palliative Care
This month, a Harvard Public Health feature documented the benefits of palliative care, while noting how both California and Hawaii are setting a new, higher standard for palliative insurance coverage. Today almost half of U.S. states include palliative care services for eligible Medicaid recipients, yet that coverage is often incomplete. Data shows that early palliative intervention improves quality of care and symptom management, while reducing the need for inpatient services and emergency department visits. Research also demonstrates that patients often live longer without aggressive treatment at end of life. In 2014, California became one of the first states to require insurance companies that administer Medicaid benefits to fully cover palliative care services for eligible residents. Hawaii is waiting for approval on the expansion of Medicaid benefits to include palliative care as a preventive service based on minimized pain outcomes. These two states are setting an example of coverage that could expand programs to the 150 million people living with chronic health conditions.
