Wall Street Article In Yesterday's Paper

In order to qualify for Hospice Care one requires a diagnosis of being terminally ill and having 6 months or less to live.

Hospice can be provided in-home or in a hospital. If in-home and paid by Medicare, a hospice caregiver will provide care for 4 hours a day, 5 days a week.

Alzheimer's & dementia are considered "chronic illnesses" and can last for years. People die from the complications, not necessarily from the diagnosis itself. Being diagnosed with either would not by itself qualify one for Hospice.

People who sign up for hospice must have a recommendation from the doctor and an agreement by the health care poxy, POA or immediate family members.

Hospice is not to improve one's condition, it's usually to manage pain & discomfort. In fact, while on Hospice, all regular medications are discontinued. The only prescribed meds are to lessen pain & discomfort.

A LTC policy will cover hospice care, up to one's daily benefit in any setting.


I'm going to have to disagree with this part a bit. I do remember my mother being prescribed her inhalers and nebulizer along with various other drugs until the very end. This went on for years. Had they discontinued her meds when they first put her on Hospice she probably wouldn't have lasted 3-4 months (probably). Her meds kept her going for about 10 years.
 
I worked for a hospice provider in KC for some time doing marketing for them, and here is what I learned:

Hospice does require a 6 month or less diagnosis, but the benefit periods work like this: 90 days then eval, 90 days then a eval, then an eval every 60 days to track the condition of the patient. The longest patient I have seen on hospice was 5 years.

Hospice is considered palliative care, or as mentioned comfort care. They can stay on their regular maintenance meds but can no longer be seeking aggressive treatment for the condition that placed them on hospice care.

Usually, if someone had Alzheimer's, they would use an alternative illness to place them on hospice, like COPD or CHF (depending on the patient). Alzheimer's was a tricky diagnosis as it was hard to track for mortality.

Care usually in their home and consisted of a visit from a RN 2x's a week and an aid 2x's a week. Then a monthly visit from a social worker and a chaplain as needed.

I always suggested they keep their insurance as hospice will cover meds and care for the condition which placed them on hospice care. All other conditions and meds are defaulted to Medicare or their insurance.

Yes, hospice works are a God sent. If you ever get a chance, most are always looking for volunteers. It can be for only a few hours a month, but I suggest doing it. Gives you a whole new perspective on things...
 
originally posted by Todd King

I'm going to have to disagree with this part a bit. I do remember my mother being prescribed her inhalers and nebulizer along with various other drugs until the very end. This went on for years. Had they discontinued her meds when they first put her on Hospice she probably wouldn't have lasted 3-4 months (probably). Her meds kept her going for about 10 years.

Todd,
I'm no expert on Hospice but I believe that inhalers, nebulizers and oxygen are given to those for comfort reasons. Morphine is also prescribed to help with breathing issues.
 
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