The main goal of hospice care is to make your older adult as comfortable as possible. Hospice combines pain and symptom management with emotional and spiritual support for seniors and families. Here is some information to clarify some misinterpretations.
The reality is that many people in hospice actually receive care for six months or longer. To be eligible for hospice under Medicare, seniors need to have Medicare Part A and have a doctor certify that they may not live more than 6 months. It’s very important to know that this is completely different from saying that someone will definitely pass away within 6 months.
After 6 months, if your older adult’s condition has improved, they may be discharged from hospice care and return to a lower level of care. But if they still need the same level of care, the doctor and hospice team will re-certify that hospice services are still appropriate.
Getting hospice care doesn’t mean giving up hope or that death is around the corner. In many cases, hospice can help stabilize a patient’s medical condition and better manage pain. If their health condition improves, patients can leave hospice care at any time and return if and when they need to.
The goal of hospice care is to improve quality of life by better managing pain and symptoms. Every case is unique, but in general, treatments that help manage pain and symptoms will be continued and aggressive disease treatments are more likely to be discontinued. Each hospice company may have their own policies, so it’s important to clarify.
McGregor Hospice is a special kind of caring and doesn’t have to happen in a specific location. People can receive hospice care anywhere – at home, in a hospital, or in anywhere within our campus of service levels.
Finally, People who are covered by Medicare usually pay little or nothing for hospice care. Most insurance plans, HMOs, and managed care plans also include coverage for hospice.