Does Medicare Cover Hospice Services in Los Angeles?
This is the very first question anyone has when considering hospice services in Los Angeles, Orange County or Ventura, California. The US federal health insurance program Medicare is overwhelmingly the highest-coverage source for eligible beneficiaries receiving hospice services. This article will focus on Medicare and refer you to resources that will help you understand Hospice and Palliative care covered by this government program
Here’s what Medicare covers for hospice services provided in Los Angeles.
What is Hospice Care?
The traditional medical way for taking care of patients with a terminal illness is still a curative medical practice. This means that the conventional medicine approach has the objective of saving one’s life and delaying his or her death. Hospice care services apply only when the illness is too severe to be cured. Hospice care looks to improve the quality of life, manage the patients’ pain and mitigate their suffering. Typical hospice care services include medical, psychological and spiritual treatment, pain relief, help with taking care of personal tasks and housework, and counselling to help patients deal with the symptoms. The common way of taking care of the terminal patient nowadays is still letting the patient live at home but patients can also receive hospice care services at hospice centers, nursing homes or hospitals. Most families choose to have their love one in a setting they are familiar withL their homes.
Medicare Coverage for Hospice Services
Medicare pays for hospice as part of Part A which means it’s covered for hospital admissions and stays, skilled nursing facility care, some home health services, and hospice. What does Medicare pay for when it comes to a hospice benefit?
- Eligibility Requirements
The fine print says– ‘To qualify for Medicare hospice, the patient must be terminally ill, expected to live six months or less if the illness runs its normal course’ – harsh terms, but that’s part of the deal.
Here’s the mention about admission for hospice benefits: Patients elect to receive hospice services instead of curative treatment for their terminal illness and sign a statement that they are aware that their illness is terminal and elect hospice care instead of curative treatment.
- Coverage Details
Services Provided: Medicare pays for the hospice-care services, which can include: nursing care provided by hospice nurses, physician services, durable medical equipment (e.g., a wheelchair or a hospital bed) and supplies, prescription drugs used for treating a terminal illness and managing pain and symptoms, and counseling and support for the hospice patient and their family members or caregivers.
- Costs Involved
Hospice Care Has No Deductibles or Coinsurance: Most hospice care provided under Medicare carries no coinsurance and no deductibles, though patients may have small co-payments for their outpatient prescription drugs and for respite care, short stays in (agencies, such as hospitals that respite organizations use to provide patients with temporary stays in an institutional setting).
Room and Board Costs: Medicare does not cover the room and board costs for hospice care received in a skilled nursing facility or other institutional setting (other than at home). Patients are therefore personally responsible for these costs, which vary depending on the housing facility.
This is why Beta Hospice recommends that the patient receive care in their homes.
- Additional Support
Hospice Care in Los Angeles: There are many choice of hospice agencies that take Medicare in Orange County, in San Bernardino and Ventura California that you can choose from. But Beta Hospice is here to help you maximize your Medicare benefits for the hospice care that you (and your family member) deserve.
Care Coordination: Beta Hospice is the Best Hospice in Los Angeles that manage the care and billing to Medicare. Call us today.
For more information or to get assistance from Medicare for hospice care, please contact Beta Hospice. We’ll be with you when you and your loved ones need us.