Hospice to cost Medicare $6
billion in
2005...
Rural hospices get $23 million boost
from Medicare payment change
Aug. 27, 2004 – A change in the way payments are determined for hospice
care will results in Medicare payments to rural hospices increasing $23
million in 2005, a 2.9 percent increase over 2004. The overall projected
increase for all hospice providers is $60 million dollars, an increase of
1 percent.
More stories
on Hospice care, usage
Failing to care for dying...Palliative care, including hospice care, is
widely recognized as the best...
HospiceUse up in 2002...
Study shows increasing use of Hospices across
the nation, discusses misconceptions about
Hospices
Rural Hospices receive grants...A
change in the way payments are
determined for hospice care
will results in ... The
overall projected increase for all
hospice providers is $60
million
Families Inform Roadmap to
Improve Care for Dying in Nursing Homes...End-of-life
care in nursing homes often results in
unnecessary suffering due mainly to a lack
of staff time, training and communication,
according to a new AARP study conducted at
Brown Medical School...
Hospice helps, but doctors
often
don’t recommend it soon enough...The
hospice philosophy of end-of-life care
emphasizes the right to die with dignity and
without pain. The role of hospice is to
provide care to the dying and support for
their families and caregivers.
Hospice care was added as a benefit under the Medicare program in 1983 and
under Medicaid in 1985. In 2005, hospice services are expected to account
for $6 billion in Medicare payments.
Information on Hospice
Below are a few web sites that have frequently asked questions and other
information about hospice care. These web sites are not all-inclusive, but
are a sampling of what can be found.:
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has a publication titled
"Medicare Hospice Benefits." Other Medicare publications can be found on
the following website: http://www.medicare.gov/Publications/
For a description of hospice, see "What is Hospice?" at the Hospice
Foundation of America website (http://www.hospicefoundation.org). It
includes a variety of meanings for the word hospice.
Hospice Net has several frequently asked questions as well as, "What
Questions Should I ask about Hospice Care?" For additional information, go
to: http://www.hospicenet.org .
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's website (http://www.nho.org )
has frequently asked questions, as well as the answer to the question,
"What is Hospice and Palliative Care?"
The End of Life Planning Information Guide provides assistance on planning
and decision making.
“As a result of improvements in how payments are calculated, Medicare
payments for hospice services in rural areas will more accurately reflect
costs,” said Dr. Mark B. McClellan, Administrator of the Centers for
Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Thousands of beneficiaries and their
families can be comforted that Medicare will help with the high costs of
this care.”
“For millions of Medicare beneficiaries and their families, reliable,
high-quality hospice care means they can spend their final days in the
comfort of their own homes, especially in underserved areas of the
country,” Dr. McClellan. “This payment increase helps ensure that
beneficiaries in rural areas have access to the quality hospice services
that they need.”
Hospice care is covered under the Medicare Hospital Insurance program and
is available to all beneficiaries enrolled in Medicare Part A. To be
eligible, their physician and the hospice medical director must certify
that they are terminally ill, with six months or less to live if their
illness runs its normal course. When a beneficiary elects the hospice
benefit, they are accepting palliative care geared towards physical,
emotional, spiritual and psychological comfort for their terminal illness
instead of the curative model of care.
Beneficiaries can receive hospice services wherever they reside, be it at
home, a nursing home, a hospital, or other facility or setting where the
patient resides. Once in hospice, they may also continue to have Medicare
coverage for treatment of other problems not related to their terminal
illness.
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