NAHC & NHPCO Leaders Say United Organization Already at Work

WASHINGTON—The new group formed by the recent merger of the National Association for Homecare and Hospice (NAHC) and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) has already gotten to work advocating in the industry—even though it doesn’t yet have a name or CEO. 

That’s what leaders said in a town hall meeting to discuss the progress of the alliance, which, for now, is being called “the alliance” as a sort of shorthand. 

“The work of the organizations doesn’t stop because of the merger,” said Ken Albert, chair of the group’s transition board, told more than 230 attendees for the online town hall on Thursday, July 31. “We’re continuing to serve members in all ways.” 

The two groups officially merged July 1 and hoped to have a name ready for the launch but encountered hurdles regarding trademark, said. 

“The staff are waiting quite patiently with all the communications and branding that we have prepared once we get clearance from our trademark council to move forward, which should be in the very near future,” Albert said. 

The search for a new CEO, which officially launched in March with the executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates and began interviewing candidates in May, should also come to fruition soon, said Melinda Gruber, vice chair of the transition board. 

“We are nearing the finalist selection phase, which will involve a steering committee and our board and we can’t wait to make an announcement after that,” she said. “It’s been a really exciting journey with a lot of effort from our search committee.” 

The alliance is also working to blend its websites. For now, members of each organization will continue to log in to their familiar “legacy” site as usual. Sometime this fall they anticipate a combined site that will be accessible through both nahc.org and nhcpo.org. They hope to launch a new single site under the alliance brand in the spring of 2025. 

On a similar vein, there will still be two separate conferences this fall: the NHCPO Annual Leadership Conference from Sept. 14-18 in Denver and the NAHC Homecare and Hospice Expo from Oct. 20-22 in Tampa, Florida. And officials said they have made “significant headway” on a new model for membership dues. 

Meanwhile, staff of the new alliance have been working on several pressing issues in recent weeks, including: 

• Review and analysis of the new final hospice rule for fiscal year 2025 that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released this week 

• Working with a consultant to research CMS’ planned special focus program and how industry groups should approach it 

• Helping develop and push through an landmark bill being drafted by Rep. Earl Blumenauer to rework payment methods and oversight efforts for hospice care and palliative services 

• Addressing the 80/20 rule covering payment for the home health work force 

“One of the hallmarks of both legacy organizations is the involvement of the grassroots,” said NAHC President Bill Dombi. “We need you to be a part of the team.” 

Dombi also responded to questions about NAHC’s ongoing lawsuit against CMS over home health payment methods. That litigation will continue under the name of the alliance going forward, he said. A judge said it was not right for review until they exhausted some other remedies, so the alliance plans to re-file it later this year once those items are completed. Dombi also said that the recent Supreme Court decision striking down the Chevron doctrine, which impacts government agency scope, could improve their chances of success.