Palliative care program

Effective January 1, 2026, Empassion Health, Inc. (Empassion), an independent company, will serve Independence Blue Cross (IBX) Medicare Advantage members by providing in-home palliative care to those living with a serious illness along with support to their families.

As a provider of high-quality, palliative and hospice care for adults living with serious illness, Empassion offers a dedicated multidisciplinary palliative care team that delivers comprehensive in-home supportive care to members and their families. The program is covered at 100 percent by IBX for Medicare Advantage members.

Empassion's program includes a palliative care team that:

• Is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week;
• Is available to visit the member in their home and prescribe medications, as needed, to manage symptoms and to address a member’s social determinants of health through connections to community-based resources;
• Educates the member and/or caregiver and family about the member's clinical condition and the trajectory and plan of care and coordinates care with member's current providers;
• Works closely with the member and/or caregiver and family to identify the member’s goals of care throughout the supportive care journey and inform the member’s providers and caregivers of changes in the member's condition;
• Conducts advance care planning;
• Supports members and their families through smooth and safe hospice transitions, as clinically appropriate and aligned with goals of care;
• Monitors care quality through hospice.