Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2014
Keywords
End of Life financial issues, End of Life care
Abstract
The goal of the End of Life Financial Issues and Sustainability Task Force was to design a care payment strategy which would support the phased build out of the full continuum of services needed to provide appropriate services and choice for End of Life in Whatcom County.
In order to further develop and appropriately finance a full continuum of End of Life services, the following six principles should serve as a guide: services should be targeted both to those who are dying as well as those with a progressive, debilitating disease; dollars should follow patient needs, not program needs; financial support should be provided for non-medical services; payment models should support the most efficient use of financial resources; the financing system should be sustainable in the long-term; pilots and transition funding should be considered in the short-term.
While the majority of medical services, including those in End of Life care, are reimbursed in a Fee-for-Service manner, other payment models such as pay for coordination, bundled payments, pay for performance, shared savings, and capitation may provide more innovative and patient-centered models for providing End of Life services. A number of existing clinical programs have shown promise in utilizing these innovative models to provide End of Life services, including Medicare Special Needs Plans, Partners in Palliative Care, and Life Passages. Elements of each of these models could be combined to develop a continuum of End of Life services in Whatcom County.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Liz, "White Paper: Building a Continuum of End of Life Care in Whatcom County: An Assessment of the Financial Landscape" (2014). Northwest Life Passages Coalition Documents. 5.
https://cedar.wwu.edu/nlpc_docs/5
Subjects - Topical (LCSH)
Palliative treatment--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--Costs; Terminal care--Washington (State)--Whatcom County--Costs
Geographic Coverage
Whatcom County (Wash.)
Genre/Form
reports
Type
Text
Rights
Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.
Rights Statement
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Language
English
Format
application/pdf