Post by Your Home Companion on Feb 22, 2015 17:28:35 GMT
Qualifying for Hospice Part 2
Earlier in the week I did a post about hospice, this post is a follow-up to that.
In Wednesday's post, I mentioned that Medicare and private insurance will pay for hospice care for as long as the patient needs it. I do need to clarify that patients do need to be recertified. Under Medicare a patient is given 180 days each. After the first 180 days, patients must be recertified every 60 days. A doctor or nurse must come in and visit the patient face-to-face to recertify them.
The big question is, who pays for hospice? And the answer is that a number of organizations do. Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, VA benefits, and private pay all pay for hospice.
Medicare
Medicare offers a one-time hospice consultation to find out if hospice is right for you. You can meet with a hospice doctor to discuss treatment plans and options. You are under no obligation to select hospice as your treatment plan because you met for the consultation.
Medicaid
All states are different, but most have a hospice benefit that is set up similar to Medicare.
Private Insurance
Like Medicaid, all insurance companies are different and most have a hospice benefit. Contact the insurance company and ask about hospice care or home care.
Veteran's Benefits
The Veteran's Administration also offers hospice care.
Private Pay or Uninsured
If you or your loved one does not have insurance or if your insurance does not cover all costs than patients can pay out of pocket. Hospice can be provided on a sliding scale and care can be free of charge. Financial assistance comes from donations, gifts, grants, volunteers, and other community resources. I would call your local hospice to see if they would be willing to offer low cost or free services.
Even though hospice might be free in your particular instance, please remember there may still be some out of pocket costs, such as co-pays for medication (with Medicare it's usually around $5.00 per pain relief prescription), treatment unrelated to the life-limiting illness, emergency rooms visits and ambulance rides not arranged by your hospice team, as well as other possibilities.