Research Advocacy: Coalition Submits Testimony to Support NIH Targeted Research

PACE (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) Recommendations submitted by the Coalition

The Coalition submitted recommendation to CMS to enhance the PACE program (Programs of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly). The Coalition strongly recommended CMS eliminate the phrase “palliative care, comfort care or end of life care services” phraseology. Combining these words in a single phrase only serves to associate palliative care exclusively with the end of life, which is not accurate. Palliative care is appropriate at any stage of illness, and access should be based on need, not prognosis. The Coalition also supports bolstering patients’ rights as proposed and adding palliative medicine to the list of required specialties.