Illinois to Drop Hospice Coverage?

Rick Kasper, CEO of Joliet Area Community Hospice, has an alarming article in yesterday's Illinois Herald-News.  He writes that "the state is pondering what “optional services” to do away with in an effort to save Medicaid money. . . .  Hospice is one of the services considered 'optional' . . . ."

Kasper rightly notes that hospices "provide Medicaid recipients (as well as all enrolled) with the palliative comfort care services, medications, medical equipment/supplies and visits by interdisciplinary team members (nurses, physician, social worker, chaplain and volunteers as needed) who are expert at end-of-life care.  That results in quality care at the site of patients’ preference, as most patients want to fully live until they die comfortably at home or in the facility in which they reside."

He also notes that hospices save money:

• Hospices save the state of Illinois an average of $2,309 per hospice patient, plus an additional 5 percent on room and board on every hospice patient residing in a Medicaid bed in Illinois nursing facilities.


• 34 percent of patients who disenrolled from hospice were admitted to an ER in comparison with only 3 percent of hospice patients.


• 40 percent of disenrolled patients were admitted to the hospital in contrast to 1.6 percent of hospice patients.


• 10 percent of disenrolled patients died in the hospital compared to only 0.2 percent of hospice patients.


• Cost of care for patients with cancer who disenrolled was nearly five times higher than for patient who remained in hospice.