Resources for Health Plans
Access to palliative care services results in improvement on quality measures, reduction in spending, and relief of suffering for members and their families. In addition to the general guidance and case studies available in CAPC’s Population Management and Palliative Care toolkit, health plans can use the resources below to develop new programs and benefits for members with serious illness while simultaneously driving improvements throughout their provider network.
What’s in the Toolkit
Specialty Palliative Care Services and Benefits
Guidance and tools to ensure access to specialty palliative care services for members living with serious illness.
Specific services and approaches that Medicare Advantage plans should implement to ensure high-value care for enrollees with serious illness.
Modifying existing benefits and adding new benefits.
Overview of the payment arrangements that currently exist for palliative care services.
Specific actions for plans looking to improve value-based design or expand supplemental benefits. Health Affairs, July 2018.
This second iteration of CAPC’s ROI Calculator provides a streamlined tool for modeling return on investment based on home-based palliative care program assumptions.
Presentation to Society of Actuaries on calculations for case rate payment.
Examples of benefits currently in use, focusing on interventions of less than three months.
Tools for employers and other stakeholders to specify required benefits and network competencies. Catalyst for Payment Reform and Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2018.
A summary of guidance from health plans on identifying palliative care services and ensuring those services are not subject to deductibles and co-pays.
A resource providing a sample provider-sponsored health plan's ACP payment policy.
This document provides a sample provider-sponsored health plan's palliative care payment policy.
Provider Network Strategies
Resources for identifying in-network or regional palliative care specialists, and for improving the communication and symptom management skills of all network providers.
Implementing network competency incentive programs and paying for specialty palliative care.
Structures and processes that all hospitals and skilled nursing facilities need to assure access to high-quality care for people with serious illness.
Measures that can be used by payers and policymakers to ensure quality care for people living with serious illness.
How to engage clinicians in communication and symptom management skills training initiatives using CAPC's online courses.
Identification and Case Management Strategies
Tools and protocols for proactively identifying rising-risk members with serious illness, and improving case management interventions to ensure the right services at the right time for members living with serious illness.
Toolkit for finding the right patients at the right time to address gaps in care.
Why proactive identification is important, how to build an algorithm, recommended first steps, and practical tips.
Best practices in case manager hiring and training, key processes and assessments, and practical guidance for getting started.
Screening questions and burden assessments for case management of people with serious illness.
This toolkit provides online courses and resources for care managers to meet the needs of patients with serious illness.
Good, better, and best practices for case management and utilization management.
Member and Quality Assurance Strategies
While all parts of an organization must support new approaches to caring for the seriously ill, the resources in this section support the work of Quality Assurance and Member Services departments.
At-a-glance list of best practices for improving health plan operations in support of members with serious illness. Center to Advance Palliative Care, 2019.
Selecting metrics and processes to evaluate the impact of the palliative care strategies.
Webinar presentation on a population health approach to care for patients with serious illness.
