For Immediate Release:

Sen. Somers’ bill to provide dignity
to hospice care patients passes CT Senate

Sen. Heather Somers applauded the State Senate’s unanimous May 16 passage of legislation she introduced which seeks to provide dignity to hospice care patients by allowing them to pass away comfortably in their home.

“We heard significant public testimony from medical professionals who support this commonsense legislation which will give hospice patients the choice to pass away peacefully at home,” said Sen. Somers, the Ranking Senator on the legislature’s Public Health Committee. “Having the power to choose where to be cared for at the end of your life is a decision which will give peace of mind to many. It will increase the quality of care and help reduce healthcare expenses that hospice care at a facility can generate. I thank my Senate colleagues for their bipartisan support for this measure.”

This bill:

• requires the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) to establish a Hospice Hospital at Home pilot program to provide in-home hospice care to patients through in-person visits and telehealth
• allows the Connecticut Department of Social Services commissioner to apply for a Medicaid Section 1115 waiver to provide Medicaid reimbursement for hospice services delivered under the bill’s pilot program, to the same level DSS reimburses for Medicaid hospital-based hospice services
• allows an advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) who provides hospice care through a DPH-licensed hospice home care agency to administer fluids or medications intravenously
• requires certain individual and group health insurance policies to cover in-home hospice services provided by a DPH-licensed hospice home care agency to the same extent they cover hospital in-patient hospice services

The bill awaits a vote in the House of Representatives.