Tillis, colleagues urge improved access to dementia care planning services

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should provide greater education and outreach to increase access to comprehensive dementia care planning services, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers wrote in an Oct. 17 letter sent to CMS Administrator Seema Verma.

“As the research community continues to search for a disease modifying therapy and better symptomatic treatments, CMS must do all it can to ensure the best quality of care and quality of life for those living with Alzheimer’s. Care planning is central to that effort,” wrote Sen. Tillis and his colleagues. “Your leadership is critical to ensuring seniors living with cognitive impairment, including those with Alzheimer’s and other dementias, have access to comprehensive care planning services.”

Among the 33 other lawmakers joining Sen. Tillis in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Deb Fischer (R-NE).

The members are cosponsors of the Improving HOPE for Alzheimer’s Act, S. 880, which would require CMS to conduct outreach to health care practitioners regarding comprehensive care planning services that are available under Medicare for individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, according to the congressional record summary, noting that the CMS must report on its outreach efforts, as well as on the number of beneficiaries receiving such services and any barriers to access.

In 2017, CMS created a related new Medicare benefit that provides for assessment and care planning for people living with cognitive impairment, including related dementias, according to their letter.

“Unfortunately, based on a recent analysis of utilization data, less than one percent of seniors eligible to receive this benefit actually accessed it in 2017,” the senators wrote.

Sen. Tillis and his colleagues pointed out that more than five million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s and, “without significant action, nearly 14 million Americans will have Alzheimer’s by 2050.”

Dementia-specific care planning, they wrote, can lead to fewer hospitalizations, fewer emergency room visits, and better medication management, among other benefits.