Medicare and Medicare Advantage patients affiliated with Arizona Care Network providers have access to a unique program through Hospice of the Valley: MediCaring.
MediCaring is part of the Medicare Care Choices model, a national program that allows eligible patients to receive palliative care without ending their medical care. Hospice of the Valley is the only hospice in Arizona chosen to participate, and ACN serves as the provider network for patients enrolled in MediCaring.
What Is MediCaring?
Under current Medicare rules, beneficiaries must stop curative care with their primary care doctor and specialists in order to receive hospice care. With MediCaring, Medicare beneficiaries can continue to see their own PCP and specialist(s) while receiving supplemental palliative care at home from Hospice of the Valley.
Barbara Volk-Craft, RN, is the special projects coordinator for Hospice of the Valley. She regularly works with providers as well as the ACN Care Coordination team, which receives inquiries or referrals from doctors looking for additional patient support. She said patients are more likely to accept “comfort care” if they don’t have to give up treatment or the relationship with their provider(s).
“The patient and their family can eventually decide whether they want hospice care or not, with no timeline or deadline,” Volk-Craft said.
“We always collaborate with their provider(s) before we initiate any service. The doctors’ roles with a patient never changes, they’re always leading the care coordination.”
Volk-Craft said there are approximately 5,500 beneficiaries enrolled in MediCaring nationally. Approximately 190 Arizonans are currently enrolled. She said the average patient participates in MediCaring for 60 days, and 85 percent of MediCaring beneficiaries eventually transition to Hospice care.
“This is really testing a palliative, concurrent model for the seriously ill population,” she said. “The providers’ input moving forward on what type of patients and services are most beneficial to specific patients’ conditions. We’re very interested in the doctors’ input: Who are the patients they serve and what kind of situations or conditions do their patients deal with?”
MediCaring is for Medicare and MA beneficiaries who:
- Have advanced cancer, congestive heart failure, COPD or HIV/AIDS
- Have been covered by Medicare Part A and Part B for the past 12 months
- Are certified for hospice care by a physician and wish to continue their treatments of choice
- Have had at least one hospital or ER visit and three office visits with any Medicare-certified provider in the past 12 months
- Live in a traditional home setting (not a group home, assisted living facility or multi-level senior care campus)
MediCaring services include:
- Home visits from a nurse, social worker, nurse’s aide, volunteer, chaplain and grief counselor
- Care coordination and case management
- 24/7/365 access to clinical support
- Person- and family- focused care
- Assistance with goals of care and advance care planning
- Symptom management
- Medicare coverage with no out-of-pocket patient fees
Providers can learn more about MediCaring and the referral process by contacting the Care Coordination team at 602.406.7226 or emailing carecoordination@azcarenetwork.org.
