Got Questions About Medicare Hospice Services? Here Are Some Answers

Learning about services that Medicare covers, and their cost, is an important discussion topic for Medicare beneficiaries. However, there is one subject that rarely comes up: hospice, end-of-life care for the terminally ill.

Many studies have shown that earlier end-of-life care can have a positive impact: reduced administration of unnecessary medications, fewer hospital admissions and less depression in survivors. As a homecare nurse, I witnessed the value of hospice care. Yet, in too many cases, it was a last-minute decision and neither the patient nor the family reaped the full benefit.