Bill > HR2969

This bill, titled the Medicare Patient Access to Hospice Act of 2013, amends Title XVIII of the Social Security Act, which governs Medicare, to allow physician assistants (PAs) to be recognized as attending physicians for hospice patients. Currently, Medicare recognizes attending physicians as those who oversee a patient's care plan, and this bill proposes to expand that recognition to include physician assistants, who are licensed medical professionals who practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. This change aims to improve access to hospice care for Medicare beneficiaries by enabling PAs to fulfill the role of attending physician, thereby potentially increasing the availability of hospice services and ensuring patients receive the care they need. The amendments are set to take effect for services provided on or after January 1, 2014.