Recent articles in the New England Journal of Medicine report that Americans are not taking advantage of high quality hospice care at the end of life. One author from Harvard Medical School points out that only a third of Americans are under hospice care when they pass away.
High quality hospice care is intended to help a terminally ill person deal with pain and live the best life possible in their final days. Emotional support is just as important as medical support during this time. A recent survey found that almost all families who had experienced hospice care would strongly recommend it to others in need. Even family members are helped by hospice care — counseling and support is available to caregivers before and after the patient’s death. This can provide peace of mind for the terminal patient, who may be afraid to leave their family in turmoil.
Misconceptions about hospice care:
- It’s expensive. Wrong! Medicare and private insurance generally cover the full cost of hospice care. There are some exceptions, and your health care provider can help you figure out what will and won’t be covered.
- It means you’ve failed in your fight against the disease. Wrong! Hospice is not a judgment on your (or your doctor’s) efforts. Hospice is an opportunity to spend your final days at home, rather than in a hospital’s ICU.
- It means you’ll die soon. Wrong! Many people under hospice care live on for months. Hospice care doesn’t mean you should crawl into bed and die. Hospice care is focused on making your final days comfortable and dignified.
- You have to wait until the very end. Wrong. Although many hospice patients only take advantage of the care in the last week of life, Medicare covers six months of hospice care.
Experts are concerned that the nation’s baby boomers will not take advantage of available hospice care during their final days. They hope that instead, baby boomers will push to make sure their needs are met throughout life — right up until the end.
Why might a person choose to not have hospice care at the end of life? The answer is often financial — gaps in Medicare and private insurance coverage. Things like intravenous nutrition and some chemotherapy are not covered. A person may have to stop using medications that can extend life (but not cure the disease) in order to enter hospice care.