NHPCO’s Regulatory Committee closely monitors federal activity around hospice and palliative care issues, reviews proposed regulations and provides appropriate comments, and analyzes and interprets regulations put into effect by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and other federal agencies.

The Regulatory Committee reviews reports and publications from the Office of Inspector General, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, the Department of Justice, the Government Accountability Office, and Medicare Administrative Contractors, and communicates with providers about program integrity and compliance issues from these agencies.

The Committee works to predict the impact of these regulations, provide the hospice and palliative care community with resources for implementation, and provide the necessary education for hospice and palliative care providers to achieve and maintain compliance with all relevant regulations.

Activities include:
Evaluating and reporting on CMS interpretations of federal regulations and advocating for changes as indicated.

Reviewing and investigating Medicare Administrative Contractors issues for hospice and palliative care and advocating for change.

Soliciting member feedback and preparing comment letters to federal agencies stating NHPCO’s position on proposed regulations.

Identifying educational needs related to federal regulations, compliance and billing issues.

Preparing resources to assist hospice and palliative care providers in maintaining compliance with existing and new regulatory requirements.

Committee members should have a history of significant involvement with hospice regulatory issues and a working knowledge of existing regulations, as well as the impact of compliance on hospice and palliative care providers.

Meetings and Conference Calls
Committee members are expected to actively participate in a majority of committee meetings and functions. Materials should be read prior to the next committee meeting. Committee members are asked to notify the staff liaison if they will not be available for a conference call or meeting.

The Regulatory Committee meets monthly by conference call for 90 minutes.

The committee meets in-person for a full day annual planning session in January (jointly with the NHPCO Quality and Standards Committee and the NHPCO Legislative Affairs Committee), and at NHPCO’s Leadership and Advocacy Conference. Committee members are expected to attend these meetings.

NHPCO does not pay for travel-related expenses for committee members. It is the committee member’s responsibility to assume any related travel expenses.

General Committee Member Expectations
Participate in workgroups and task forces on specific topics, including the development of resource materials for hospice and palliative care providers.

Meet deadlines agreed upon by the committee. Committee work often includes drafting materials for monographs; compliance guides surveys, position papers, articles, etc.

Answer questions regarding committee work from NHPCO members. NHPCO staff will refer member questions regarding committee topics and work to committee members.

Participate in educational sessions and forums.

Work with the NHPCO staff and committee chair to complete the committee’s work plan. Each year committees agree to work on projects according to the priorities for the organization.

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

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.

Contact: NHPCO’s Regulatory Team,  703-837-1500.