WASHINGTON, D.C.  – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) today co-sponsored bipartisan legislation designed to give people with serious illness the freedom to make more informed choices about their care, and the power to have those choices honored.

The Care Planning Act of 2015, introduced by Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), creates a Medicare benefit for patient-centered care planning for people with serious illness. It will reimburse a team of health care professionals for providing a voluntary, structured discussion about the patient’s goals, illness and treatment options. Under this legislation, a written plan would reflect the informed choices made by patients in consultation with their health care team, faith leaders, family members and friends. The Care Planning Act also provides resources for public and professional education materials about care planning.

“There are few things more challenging than the sensitive decisions that must be made with loved ones at the end of life. Having recently lost both of my parents, I speak from personal experience when I say how important it is for families, loved ones and medical providers to have clear direction when making decisions about treatment in their final days. Sadly, Medicare will not currently pay for doctors to have this conversation. I am joining Senators Warner and Isakson in supporting the Care Planning Act of 2015 because patients and their families should have access to the planning and resources needed to make a fully informed decision about care options, and to have those wishes respected,” said Senator Capito.

The Care Planning Act:

  • Establishes Medicare reimbursement for healthcare professionals to provide a voluntary and structured discussion about the goals and treatment options for individuals with serious illness, resulting in a documented care plan that reflects the informed choices made by patients in consultation with members of their health care team, faith leaders, family members and friends.
  • Tests new models for more intensive services for those with advanced illness, and provides funding to support the development of a public information campaign to encourage effective care planning. It also provides grants to develop materials and maintain a web site with information about advanced care planning, portable treatment orders, palliative care, hospice, and planning services, and directs the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services (HHS) to include information about advanced care planning in the official Medicare & You handbook.
  • Puts structures in place to focus providers on evidence of patient preferences, such as directives from other states or past discussions about treatment goals, and requires documentation of plans made prior to discharge from health facilities to assure that care plans travel with patients after discharge.
  • Directs HHS to develop quality metrics that will measure synchronicity among the individual’s stated goals, values, and preferences with documented care plans, the treatment that is delivered, and the outcome of treatment.
  • Explicitly prohibits the use of funds in violation of the Assisted Suicide Funding Restriction Act of 1997, and further requires that all services be free from discrimination based on advanced age, disability status, or the presence of advanced illness.

Senators Warner and Isakson previously introduced the legislation in the 113th Congress. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) are also original co-sponsors of the bill.

The legislation has the support of more than 40 national and local health care and elder advocacy organizations, including: the AARP, Alliance for Aging Research, Alzheimer’s Association, Alzheimer’s Foundation, AMDA – The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine, American Association for Long Term Care Nursing, American Geriatrics Society, American Health Care Association, American Heart Association, Augusta Health, Cambia Health Solutions and the Cambia Foundation, Capital Caring, Caregiver Action Network, Center for Elder Care and Advanced Illness, Altarum Institute, Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, Connected Health Resources, Dementia Action Alliance, Emory University Woodruff Health Sciences Center, Good Samaritan Hospice, Gundersen Health System, Home Healthcare Hospice and Community Services, Latino Alzheimer's & Memory Disorders Alliance (LAMDA), Latinos Against Alzheimer's, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, National Association for Home Care & Hospice, National Association of Activity Professionals, National Association of Directors of Nursing Administration/Long Term Care, Inc., National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, National Council on Aging, National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA), National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, National Partnership for Hospice Innovation, National Transitions of Care Coalition, Parkinson’s Action Network, Second Wind Dreams, SeniorSherpa, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), Union for Reform Judaism, United Methodist Church – General Board of Church and Society, University of Virginia Health System, USAgainst Alzheimer’s, Visiting Nurse Associations of America and Women’s Institute for a Secure Retirement (WISER).