Who is eligible for hospice services

Hospice services are usually covered fully by Medicaid for patients and their families and can be provided wherever the patient is currently living. Although patients are expected to live for six months or less when they are referred to hospice care, there may be cases where the patient lives longer than expected.

Medicaid patients can receive an unlimited number of day benefit periods following their initial six months in hospice as long as they are recertified as continuing to be terminally ill with a prognosis of six months or less to live.

To receive the Medicare Hospice benefit, patients must have Medicare Part A, a diagnosis of six months or less to live, and a desire to undergo comfort care instead of curative treatment.

The Medicare hospice benefit can be received wherever the patient resides, but they may not receive concurrent enrollment in skilled nursing care and hospice for the same diagnosis.

Most patients use Medicaid or Medicare to cover their hospice services, but it is also possible to use private health insurance for hospice care. Whether it is purchased privately from a health insurance provider or the Affordable Care Act marketplace or it is provided by an employer or retirement program, most private insurance plans will cover hospice care.

Phone: When is it time to consider hospice care as an option? Hospice care may be considered for anyone whom doctors believe to have a life expectancy of less than six months. Usually at this point, active treatment aimed at recovery stops, and hospice care is initiated.

They were so wonderful in my time of grief, and knowing his body was going to help others made me want to become a part of it when my time comes as well. What types of services are provided by a hospice organization? The following are the types of services typically offered through hospice: Pain Management The goal of pain management is to help you feel comfortable while allowing you to stay in control of and enjoy your life.

Counseling and Support To help you and your family with psychological, emotional, and spiritual issues. Inpatient Care Most hospice care is centered in the home, however there may be occasions when you need to be temporarily admitted to a hospital, extended-care facility, or an inpatient hospice center. Then, it will be determined how that hospice care will be paid for. Only the hospice doctor and the primary care doctor can certify that someone is terminally ill with a life expectancy of six months or less, says Medicare.

A nurse practitioner, by contrast, cannot certify that someone is terminally ill. There is no age restriction when it comes to who qualifies for hospice: anyone in the last stages of life can qualify. Other considerations that must be met include:. As part of determining eligibility, the doctors must first evaluate the patient for pain and symptom management, counsel the patient on hospice and any other options available to him or her, and advise the patient on advanced care planning.

The patient must be determined to have a terminal illness with a prognosis of less than six months to live. Likewise, any patient who decides to re-visit the possibility of curative measures can do so at any time. Heart Disease Hospice care for heart disease addresses a wide range of symptoms, including shortness of breath, chest pain, weakness, functional decline and the management of fluid status. Liver Disease Liver disease patients may be appropriate for hospice care if they have persistent symptoms of hepatic failure, such as ascites, hepatic encephalopathy or recurrent varicella bleeding, and meet other guidelines.

Renal Disease More patients and families are choosing not to start or to withdraw dialysis for multiple reasons, particularly in patients older than 60 years.