Hospice question(4)

Medicare hospice details

 https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwibzfThkof-AhXDjYkEHW1rBy0QFnoECA0QAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicare.gov%2FPubs%2Fpdf%2F02154-medicare-hospice-benefits.pdf&usg=AOvVaw29Gt3_KOHWUZd6EbRYHCl9

It is Medicare Part A that covers Hospice. If one has a Medicare Advantage Plan, the plan itself is not responsible for Hospice coverage; that is managed out of plan by Medicare and it will be seamless with you not having to do anything and the patient will still continue to be covered by the Advantage Plan.

While six months of life is the measurement set forth by Medicare, that is really very outdated, especially when dementia is the primary problem issue. Initially when accepted into service and placed on Hospice, the service will be "certified" for two 90 day periods; the patient is assessed by Hospice RNs for continued need and re-certified. After that, the cert periods happen every 60 days on an unlimited basis if the patients continues in decline.

It is also a blessing in that Hospice will also follow a patient in a care facility should placement become necessary. That being said; not all Hospices are alike. Some are far more beneficent than others. Should one Hospice not accept a person as a patient, it is good to call another.

While a doctor's order is required to start Hospice services, it does not take a doctor's order to assess a person for hospice care. You can make Hospice calls for assessment for service yourself. If accepted by Hospice, the RN will then call and obtain the doctor's order for service.

For my Loved One, (LO), I contacted three Hospices and asked to speak to the Supervising RN. I was able to ask about their services, their philosophy in care, and discuss any issues or patient concerns. In that way I was able to determine which Hospice sounded like the better fit. In my experience, both professional and personal, I have found the larger Hospice organizations better able to provide services and be more easily available for problems than the smaller Mom and Pop entities.

Hospice can be awesomely supportive not only for the patient, but also for the family. Let us know how you are doing and how things are going, many of us have been in like situations and we understand the dynamics and concerns.

J.

"If you live longer than 6 months, you can still get hospice care as long as the hospice medical director or other hospice doctor recertifies that you’re terminally ill. Hospice care is given in benefit periods. You can get hospice care for two 90-day benefit periods followed by an unlimited number of 60-day benefit periods. A benefit period starts the day you begin to get hospice care, and it ends when your 90-day or 60-day benefit period ends. At the start of the first 90-day benefit period, your hospice doctor and your regular doctor (if you have one) must certify that you’re terminally ill (with a life expectancy of 6 months or less). Important: At the start of each benefit period after the first 90-day benefit period, the hospice medical director or other hospice doctor must recertify that you’re terminally ill, so you can continue to get hospice care. Once your hospice benefit starts, you don’t need to “re-choose” hospice care for each new benefit period. "