In today’s episode of Help Choose Home, we’re joined by Edo Banach, JD, President and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. He has worked as the Senior Advisor and Deputy Director of the Medicare-Medicaid Coordination Office at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and Associate General Counsel at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York.

Edo has also served as the Medicare Rights Center’s General Counsel, and has practiced health law at the firms of Latham & Watkins and Gallagher, Evelius and Jones, and clerked for U.S. Judge John T. Nixon of the Federal District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

In this episode we discuss:

• The history of the hospice benefit and why there’s still plenty of room for hospice reform
• The importance of standardized, high-quality community-based palliative care.
• Strategies for raising consumer awareness about legislative issues related to hospice and palliative care, and tips for talking to your loved one about them.

Below are some highlights from our conversation:

• [1:36] Learn about the history of the hospice benefit and current legislation regarding hospice.
• [2:48] Edo discusses what allows hospice to prosper and what holds it back, and how the benefit has changed over time.
• [5:55] Learn the definition of palliative care and learn what kind of end-of-life services are covered by Medicare.
• [9:37] Edo reflects on how COVID-19 has contributed to bipartisan support for hospice reform.
• [11:14] Discover new forms of billing currently being advocated for that could change the way Americans pay for healthcare.
• [13:32] Learn how consumers can demand change from lawmakers to expand the hospice benefit.
• [15:50] In a country that dislikes discussing death, learn how you can discuss advance care planning with loved ones.
• [17:14] Edo shares some of the unique interdisciplinary benefits of hospice and how hospice is tailored to each individual.
• [18:16] Find encouragement about setting bold and aggressive goals when it comes to changing systems and institutions.
• [19:06] Learn how healthcare providers, employers, and consumers can band together for reform within the next ten years.
• [21:04] Edo shares how to marry the head and the heart when it comes to advocating for change.

After listening to today’s episode, I think that like me, you’ll come away with a greater understanding and appreciation for the way community-based palliative care can revolutionize the healthcare system. You may even be motivated to support regional and national initiatives towards hospice reform, and discuss advance care planning with your family.

You can listen to today’s episode here, or on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts.

To learn more about the holistic benefits of utilizing hospice for patients and families, listen to my interview with Bill Dombi, Esq., the President of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.  Learn about The future of care at home in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the history of how the initiative to make home care a more accessible option has bridged political divides and united the country.

If this episode has been helpful, be sure to leave a five-star review and share the podcast with your friends to help us in the national effort to educate about home health care options! You can connect with me, Merrily Orsini, on Twitter@MerrilyO.

Sponsors

The Help Choose Home podcast series is a collaborative effort by the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC), Axxess, and corecubed to educate the public about the many benefits of the in-home care industry, which includes non-medical home care, private duty nursing care, medical home health, hospice, and other in-home health and wellness services.

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