subject: Free Medicare Hospice Program Available For Life-threatening Illness [print this page] Its not an easy fact to face; however, it is an important fact to know. Free Medicare hospice benefits are available to Medicare beneficiaries who have Medicare Part A, are medically certified to be terminally ill with six months or less to live, sign a statement choosing hospice career instead of other Medicare-covered benefits and get care from a Medicare-approved hospice program. And Medicare will still pay for covered benefits for any health problems that arent related to the terminal illness.
Caring for a loved one who is terminally ill requires the support of not just the family members, notes Alan Weinstock, an insurance broker at www.MedicareSupplementPlans.com, but requires the support from a trained care team. And that is what the Medicare hospice program provides.
What You Should Know about the Medicare Hospice Program
Hospice is a comprehensive health care program for the seriously ill, who may or may not be close to death. In fact, it is not at all rare that a beneficiary can get well enough to leave hospice.
In the case of the Medicare hospice program, it offers comfort and support to people who are severely ill in order to help them live their remaining time to the fullest extent possible. Hospice focuses on physical, emotional, social and spiritual needs. In addition, it provides support to the family members who are caring for the severely-ill person.
The benefit of hospice is that it can be provided in the home. The beneficiary is assigned a nurse who comes by to regularly check things such as vital signs and to help with chronic or even acute medical problems. They, or another nurse, are on call 24-hours a day for emergencies. That means while hospice beneficiaries still keep routine appointments with doctors, hospice nurses can handle colds, the flu and other ailments that would ordinarily send them to a physician. This helps reduce Medicare emergency room costs and provides the beneficiary and family peace of mind.
In addition, Medicare hospice assigns a licensed, professional social worker to help family care givers with advice, counseling and resources. And hospice may even supply a hospital-style bed, oxygen or an IV to prevent dehydration
Medicare Hospice Services Covered
Here is a general overview of the services that Medicare hospice services cover:
Doctor services
Nursing care
Medical equipment (such as wheelchairs or walkers)
Medical supplies (such as bandages and catheters)
Drugs for symptom control or pain relief (may require small copayment)
Hospice aide and homemaker services
Physical and occupational therapy
Speech-language pathology services
Social worker services
Dietary counseling
Grief and loss counseling for you and your family
Short-term inpatient care (for pain and symptom management)
Short-term respite care (may require small copayment)
Any other Medicare-covered services needed to manage your pain and other symptoms, as recommended by your hospice team
Keep in mind that as of January 1, 2011, the health care reforms will require that a nurse practitioner or doctor have a face-to-face meeting with the patient at the end of the six month period to recertify his/her eligibility.
Its important to know the benefits you have available to you either through Medicare or as part of a Medigap insurance plan like those offered by www.MedicareSupplementPlans.com.
