Legislative Affairs Committee

The Legislative Affairs Committee supports activities related to advancing the legislative agenda of NHPCO. Activities include providing timely input on NHPCO’s legislative agenda, budget and legislative proposals, and legislation.

The Committee assists the Hospice Action Network and NHPCO in prioritizing issues and developing policy positions.  The Committee is responsible for executing strategies including key message development and dissemination, educating their respective constituencies, and preparing and submitting correspondence to Congressional, state and local offices. The Committee is responsible for reviewing relevant proposals, reports, and announcements released by Congress, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG), Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the General Accountability Office (GAO), MedPAC, and other federal agencies as advised by the NHPCO team.

The committee’s work will focus on several areas including but not limited to:

The protection and improvement of the hospice benefit;
the pursuit of legislative strategies to expand access for hospice patients and families; improving quality by ensuring program integrity; and new reimbursement pathways for hospice and palliative care under Medicare including alternative payment models. 

Requirements for committee members include:

A history of engagement in legislative activity related to hospice and palliative care; prior NHPCO committee service or a substantive participation in NHPCO advocacy activities; and a working knowledge of the legislative process and its impact on hospice and palliative care providers.

Membership affiliation:

Any employee or volunteer of a Provider, Palliative Care, State, or Associate member of NHPCO is eligible to serve on a Committee or Council. Individuals must meet the membership eligibility requirement based on current membership status. NHPCO membership information is available at www.nhpco.org/membership or by calling NHPCO’s Solutions Center at 800/646-6460.

Meetings and Conference Calls

Committee members are expected to actively participate in Committee meetings and events. They are required to review minutes, meeting agendas, and other materials provided by the HAN team. Committee members should notify the staff liaison in advance of any conference calls or functions for which they will not be available.

The Legislative Affairs Committee meets monthly by conference call for 90 minutes.

Legislative Affairs Committee members are expected to attend two face-to-face meetings, one of which takes place in Washington, DC (around federal elections).  The meeting during the Leadership and Advocacy Conference is always in Washington, DC.  The second meeting takes place in a location selected by NHPCO.

Full Council member expectations can be found in the Guidelines for Committees and Councils.

Contact: Logan Hoover,  571-412-3995.