From Military.com:
“Terminally Ill Military Kids Can
Now Receive Both Treatment and Hospice”
The parents of children with
terminal illnesses covered by Tricare no longer have to choose between
treatment and end-of-life care, thanks to a policy update issued today. The
policy change, ordered by the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),
will allow military dependents under 21 to receive both medical treatment for
their terminal illness, such as medication, radiation or surgeries; and care
that falls under the umbrella of "hospice," which includes pain
relief and symptom control. Under previous law and policy, a patient could only
receive one or the other. While the either-or policy might work for adults
whose terminal illnesses lead to predictable declines, studies have shown that
integrating hospice with ongoing recovery treatments can actually increase sick
kids' chances of survival, advocates said. "Hospice" is an umbrella
service category that is further broken down into three types: concurrent
curative, palliative and standard hospice. Concurrent curative care combines
standard end-of-life care with life-prolonging treatments. Palliative care is
offered after a serious diagnosis to give both symptom management and
end-of-life counseling with potentially life-saving medical care. The
Affordable Care Act (ACA) in 2010 required Medicaid and private insurers to
allow the care to be paired. But Tricare was exempt from that law, and
advocates lobbied an additional seven years to push Tricare to follow suit. The
2018 NDAA enacted that change, and the policy update issued today lays out the
path for using it. "The Tricare for Kids Coalition is dedicated to
ensuring that the 2.4 million children of military families receive the 'right
care, at the right time, with the right provider, in the right setting,'"
Kara Tollett Oakley, an advocate who founded the coalition which helped lobby
for the change, told Military.com in a statement. "The policy manual
implementation today ... is a big step toward that goal. We are thrilled that
our military families no longer must make the untenable choice to remove their
child from a course of treatment in order to receive hospice care." Advocates
with the National Military Family Association, which also lobbied for the
change, said they expect the change to have an immediate impact on the quality
of life of terminally ill military kids. "We appreciated Congress listed
to us and addressed this issue in the FY18 NDAA," Karen Ruedisueli, a
deputy director for government policy with the organization said in a
statement. The Tricare policy blocking patients from receiving both hospice
care and illness treatment remains in effect for patients over age 21.
^ I had no idea that military
children had to choose between treatment of hospice. I’m really glad that now
they no longer have to pick one over the other. ^
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