The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is directing a new alternative for Medicare known as the Medicare Care Choice Model. It will allow Medicare beneficiaries to get palliative services from some hospice providers while receiving other treatments from their physicians.

Reports say that this experimental choice model is being provided through a number of hospices all over the US in both urban and rural parts. Four hospices in Wisconsin - Home Health United, Agrace, Unity and Hospice Alliance - are taking part in it.

The aim behind this is to know if eligible Medicare patients are in favor of receiving the palliative services. They usually have to forego while they continue getting other treatments. Those who are in favor of palliative services, CMS will try to know whether those people experience better quality of care, better satisfaction of patient and family, or not. It will also try to know how dual services influence Medicare expenditures.

As per reports, approximately 150,000 people suffering from terminal illnesses would be eligible to take part in the study that will be conducted for five years. It is not just limited to patients suffering from advanced cancers. Patients having other illnesses that are life-threatening like congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome could also take part.

And this indicates that patients who take part in cardiac or pulmonary rehabilitation and are eligible for the new model can go on ahead with their rehabilitation. The results of the study are awaited and are expected to be quite interesting.