Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) has introduced a new bill designed to reduce financial barriers to hospice care for patients with blood conditions.
The new Improving Access to Transfusion Care for Hospice Patients Act of 2026, if enacted, would require the U.S. Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Center for Innovation to establish a new payment demonstration. The bill proposes a new reimbursement model to test the ability to bill blood transfusion services separately from Medicare hospice per diem rate.
The legislation, if enacted, could help improve access to end-of-life care, particularly for patients receiving blood transfusion treatments, Dingell said in a recent press release.
“Patients at the end of life should never have to choose between the comfort of hospice care and the treatments that help them live with dignity,” Dingell said. “This bill removes financial barriers so more patients can access the compassionate, high-quality care they deserve.”
The bill, if passed, would establish a payment demonstration that would compare participants’ end-of-life trajectories with others, including those with similar conditions. The proposed new payment model would allow blood transfusion to be billed separately from hospice services.
The proposed demonstration would examine metrics such as hospice utilization, length of stay, intensive care unit (ICU) stays and hospitalizations, among other data.
Disease-specific end-of-life disparities are more common among patients with blood cancer. Hospice regulations require patients to forgo curative treatments such as blood transfusions. This stipulation has as a common barrier curbing greater hospice utilization, recent research has found.
Having access to transfusions was cited as a main priority among 200 adults with advanced blood cancer in a recent study published in the American Medical Journal. Patients with blood cancer may perceive hospice “incompatible” with their current treatments, including transfusions, researchers indicated in the study.
The new legislation, if enacted, could help address end-of-life care disparities, according to Debra BenAvram, CEO the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB).
“The [AABB] is proud to support the Improving Access to Transfusion Care for Hospice Patients Act,” BenAvram said in a statement. “This bill removes a significant obstacle for patients relying on the Medicare hospice benefit. Every patient deserves access to safe blood transfusions, regardless of where they are in their care journey.”
