The hospice philosophy is a simple one. We strive to allow each individual to experience a peaceful and dignified death, in his own home, surrounded by his family and friends, and free from painful and unnecessary medical procedures. Our patients have reached a point in their disease process where continuing medical treatment becomes futile and might actually be harmful rather than helpful. Hospice care is palliative in nature, not curative, meaning that we work to alleviate the symptoms associated with the disease rather than trying to cure the disease overall.
Many myths exist about hospice care in this country. Hospice does not hasten a patient's death. Often, we even see patients "bounce back" or get their "second wind" once we start providing services because they are not used to all the extra attention and TLC. Hospice is not just for the final week or days of a person's life. We are saddened to admit patients who are so close to the end of their lives because we know that we don't have enough time to do the real work of hospice - the forming of relationships with patients and caregivers, the healing of past family conflicts, the reminiscing on the past and planning for the beyond, and the time to achieve peace and comfort before taking a last breath.
Hospice achieves the goal of allowing individuals to die peacefully at home by bringing into their homes all of the medical interventions necessary to keep them comfortable and pain free. Hospice provides skilled nurses to deal with the patient's physical sympoms, home health aides to help with bathing and grooming, social workers and chaplains to deal with the patient's emotional concerns, volunteers for companionship, and any medications or medical equipment related to the patient's hospice diagnosis. By assuming total care of our patients, we help them end their lives' journeys on their own terms - and no one else's.
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.
For a more detailed explanation of how Medicare pays for hospice services, please click here.
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 by Medicare, Medicaid, or private insurance a daily rate for each patient under its care. Out of that daily rate, hospice pays for all the services provided - nursing visits, aide visits, medications, equipment, and so on. Because some patients require more or less services than others, hospice is able to serve all the needs of its patients and stay within the daily rate budget.
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.
History of the Hospice Movement
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.
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.
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.”