Advance Care Planning Among Medicare Fee-For-Service Beneficiaries and Practitioners: Research Brief
Fang He, PhD; Angela Gasdaska, BS; Hannah Friedman, BA; Brendan Wedehase, BS; Alexis Kirk, PhD; Ila Broyles, PhD; Sarita L. Karon, PhD
RTI International
September 2020
HTML Format (5 PDF pages)
ABSTRACT
Advance care planning (ACP) is planning that aligns the care an individual wants to receive if they become unable to speak for themselves with their values and goals. Prior research show that end-of-life wishes were more likely to be known and respected for people who received ACP. We used quantitative methods to examine the use of the ACP codes in Medicare fee-for-service and qualitative methods to supplement the results from this quantitative data analysis. We found low but increasing use of the ACP codes, with variation by practitioner type, beneficiary mortality, and place of service. Although barriers to ACP remain, we identified a wide variety of other interventions encouraging ACP.
This brief was prepared under contract #HHSP233201600021I between HHS's ASPE/BHDAP and RTI International. For additional information about this subject, you can visit the DALTCP home page at https://aspe.hhs.gov/bhdap or contact the ASPE Project Officers, William Haltermann and Iara Oliveira, at HHS/ASPE/BHDAP, Room 424E, H.H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C., 20201; William.Haltermann@hhs.gov, Iara.Oliveira@hhs.gov.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views expressed in this brief are those of the authors. They do not reflect the views of the Department of Health and Human Services, the contractor or any other funding organization. This brief was completed and submitted on September 2019.