The word hospice stems from the Latin word “hospitium” meaning
guesthouse. It was originally used to describe a place of shelter
for weary and sick travelers returning from religious pilgrimages.
During the 1960’s, Dr. Cicely Saunders, a British Physician, began
the modern hospice movement by establishing St. Christopher’s
Hospice near London. St. Christopher’s organized a team approach to
professional caregiving and was the first program to use modern pain
management techniques to compassionately care for the dying. The
first hospice in the United States was established in Branford,
Connecticut in 1974. Today there are more than 3,100 hospice
programs operating in the United States, Puerto Rico and Guam.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization states that
hospice is “considered to be the model for quality, compassionate
care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury, [and]
hospice and palliative care involve a team-oriented approach to
expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual
support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes.
Support is provided to the patient's loved ones as well. At the
center of hospice and palliative care is the belief that each of us
has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our
families will receive the necessary support to allow us to do so.”
This is such a hard time in a person’s life – and the family’s life
as well. Emotions are magnified and intensified to a point where
outside support is often critical to the system as a whole. Having a
team of trained professionals whose total focus is on the comfort
and dignity of the patient makes the transitions at the end of life
more bearable. Consulting hospice is literally bringing on a team of
specialists for this specialized area of treatment. Just as you
typically call in a neurologist to provide stroke care and
consultation, you would call in the hospice team to provide end of
life care. No one is better suited to provide this type of care than
the trained experts with Life’s Solutions Hospice Care, Inc.
Who Pays for Hospice - The Medicare Hospice Benefit
The simple answer is Medicare pays 100%, Medicaid pays 100%, private
insurances typically pay 100%, and Life’s Solutions is committed to
providing indigent care where needed.
The Medicare Hospice Benefit, initiated in 1983, is covered under
Medicare Part A (hospital insurance). Medicare beneficiaries who
choose hospice care receive a full scope of non-curative medical and
support services for their terminal illness. Hospice care also
supports the family and loved ones of the patient through a variety
of services, enhancing the value of the Medicare Hospice Benefit.
The Medicare Hospice Benefit provides for:
Physician services
Nursing care
Medical appliances and supplies
Drugs for symptom management and pain relief
Short-term inpatient and respite care
Homemaker and home health aide services
Counseling
Social work service
Spiritual care
Volunteer participation
Bereavement services
Who is Eligible for Medicare Hospice benefits?
Medicare has three key eligibility
criteria:
The patient chooses to receive hospice care rather than
curative treatments for his or her illness;
The patient’s doctor and the hospice medical director use
their best clinical judgment to certify that the patient is
terminally ill with a life expectancy of six months or less, if
the disease runs its normal course; and
The patient enrolls in a Medicare-approved hospice program.
The six month prognosis is a stumbling block for many patients,
family members, and frankly physicians. Hospice is all too
frequently seen as “giving up,” particularly by those trained to
heal, save, and cure. The human reality is that we and those we love
will all confront death. Many will confront it surrounded by more
pain and distress than would otherwise be necessary. The story of
hospice is that it isn’t about death and dying; it is about living
well, and connecting with those you love for every moment possible.
Even the best physician is only human and cannot absolutely
guarantee an accurate prognosis or timeframe with any life limiting
illness or disease. The key is to ask the physician if he or she
would be surprised if the person considering hospice were to die
within six months. If the answer is no, contacting us is the
appropriate next step.
What about other reimbursements?
Medicaid reimburses care costs for those receiving Medicaid funding
in a nursing facility.
Most private health plans and long-term care insurances have hospice
benefits. If you have a question about coverage, do not let that be
a stumbling block. Call us and we’ll walk you through the process.
Any patient who needs hospice care, regardless of insurance or
ability to pay, will be served by the staff of Life’s Solutions
Hospice Care.
What Services Does Life's Solutions Hospice Care, Inc. Offer?
The services offered and
frequency of delivery have one primary determining factor:
the patient’s need.
Some of the services provided include, but
are not limited to:
Physician visits guiding the team in the overall medical
treatment plan
Nursing visits for medical management and oversight and
clinical assessments and treatments
Home health aides to assist with personal care, grooming and
hygiene, and other activities of daily living
Social workers for support, education, and community resource
consultation
Counselor for emotional and spiritual guidance and support
Volunteer support for special tender loving care
Durable medical equipment, which may include hospital beds,
oxygen concentrators, wheelchairs, and special mattresses based on
the patient’s needs
Prescription medications related to the hospice admitting
diagnosis and for the management of pain and preservation of
comfort
How this actually works is that each hospice is reimbursed a daily
rate for each patient under their care. Life’s Solutions believes in
exercising flexibility in developing a customized treatment plan
depending on the needs and wishes of each patient and family within
this reimbursement rate. This flexibility maximizes the sense of
control a patient has over his or her healthcare at a time when many
choices are being taken away. We believe in providing that dignity
and freedom throughout a person’s life.
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization states that
hospice is “considered to be the model for quality, compassionate
care for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury, [and]
hospice and palliative care involve a team-oriented approach to
expert medical care, pain management, and emotional and spiritual
support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes.
Support is provided to the patient's loved ones as well. At the
center of hospice and palliative care is the belief that each of us
has the right to die pain-free and with dignity, and that our
families will receive the necessary support to allow us to do so.”
The six month prognosis is a stumbling block for many patients,
family members, and frankly physicians. Hospice is all too
frequently seen as “giving up,” particularly by those trained to
heal, save, and cure. The human reality is that we and those we love
will all confront death. Many will confront it surrounded by more
pain and distress than would otherwise be necessary. The story of
hospice is that it isn’t about death and dying; it is about living
well, and connecting with those you love for every moment possible.