News Briefs – JULY / AUGUST 2024
by INELDA
Study Reports on Preferred Places to Die
A recent study in the BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care journal investigated bereaved family members’ associations regarding the quality of care in the places the dying person received end-of-life care. The study concluded that home was the most preferred place for end-of-life care and death. Out of the 485 participants, 52% preferred home for place of end-of-life care and 43% for place of death. The participants shared that 79.2% of the deceased persons had been cared for at home at some point during the last three months of life, 27.4% had been in nursing home care, and 15.7% had been in a specialized palliative care unit. However, partners were more likely than other family members to prefer hospital for place of care and nursing home for place of death. Another outcome reported by family members was that in a scenario involving serious illness, the most important aspects of care included receiving as much information as wanted (47%), dying in one’s preferred place (29%), and being able to choose who makes decisions about the care (18%).
C-TAC Makes Recommendations for Medicare and Medicaid Payment
The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC, which INELDA is a member of) recently made recommendations to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) regarding its proposed 2025 hospice and skilled nursing facility rules. C-TAC requested information on the payment mechanism for high-intensity palliative care services. Additionally, C-TAC called CMS to task on reframing the language around palliative care, as misuse could lead to unjust billing. The recommendations also include measurement tools to evaluate depression, patient satisfaction, the integration of advance care planning, palliative care access, and timely and appropriate hospice referrals, as well as other guidance that advocates directly for the patient.
Gen X Cancer Rates Higher Than Parents
Science News reported a JAMA Network Open study that Generation X, those born from 1965 through 1980, are more likely to receive a diagnosis of cancer than their parents. Researchers Philip Rosenberg and Adalberto Miranda-Filho gathered data from 3.8 million people diagnosed with invasive cancers. The study showed that “Gen X women had projected increases in thyroid, kidney, rectal, uterine, colon, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers, as well as non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia. Gen X men have forecasted rises in thyroid, kidney, rectal, colon, and prostate cancers.” Women of Hispanic origin had one of the biggest increases, a rise of 35%. The report also linked the rise to obesity, lack of exercise, eating too much red meat, and other lifestyle factors.
