Advocacy Update

Considering Policy Priorities for the Field Through a COVID-19 Lens

Jacqueline M. Kocinski, MPP

As COVID-19 continues to impact all aspects of health care, both policymakers and advocates are necessarily viewing their work through the lens of the pandemic. The swift decision making that characterized the period immediately following the coronavirus outbreak—when the urgent need for legislative and regulatory flexibilities was paramount—has begun to give way to thoughtful reflection of lessons learned and consideration of longer-term needs for patients and providers as well as the US healthcare system as a whole. Guided by AAHPM's Public Policy Priorities, the Academy's advocacy agenda also has turned to ensuring the field is well positioned to capitalize on the increased attention to serious illness care that the COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) has engendered and urging permanent policies that will advance the field and support the delivery of high-quality palliative and hospice care for years to come.