Who is Eligible for Hospice Care? And how much does it cost?

Who is Eligible?

Hospice care facilities usually require two different qualifications such as:

-Life expectancy of six-months or less with a long-term illness.

-Patient must be aware of an accurate prognosis for their disease.

Hospice care does not signify that someone is waiting to die soon. It simply means that a patient will be having extra care with quality living to their end-of-life. Some patients receiving hospice care could even become better and live a little longer than their life expectancy. Everyone is different and all depends on the patient’s life and disease.

Hospice care is provided for patients and family members who are dealing with a life- long illness. Hospice care professionals give physical support and emotional support to family members trying to cope with a sick loved one.

Our hospice team offers many qualified specialists that all fall under different categories in comfort care options such as:

-Counselors

-Doctors

–Hospice aides

-Nurses

-Physical and occupational therapist

-Pharmacist

-Speech therapy

And much more depending on the hospice facility that benefits you.

How much does the Hospice cost?

The average cost for end-of life care ranges from $10,000 a month depending on the different services needed. This can be very pricey for out of pocket, which is why the government offers different insurance coverage for extra help.

If you use Medicare as an option, you don’t have to pay a penny for overall hospice care. You have to pay up to $5 in prescriptions for the patient. If the patient needs Respite care, they pay a 5% of the Medicare amount.

Financial benefits?

With all the services given by a hospice facility, many patients and family members can benefit from different payment options. There are so many ways to pay for hospice care. This has to do with the financial option chosen, from there a patient will receive more or fewer services.

Medicare benefits is a program in which patients will receive the extra financial help they need, if they qualify. This option gives many hospice care benefits because it offers the privilege to grant this care without having to spend out of pocket.

People who are qualified for Medicare have to have a terminal illness and a 6-month life expectancy. A lot of patients become confused in the benefits given from this option. These benefits are to only seek comfort from the disease not to cure it.

Let us recognize that Medicare does not cover for medication, such as chemotherapy, radiation and so on.

Medicaid benefits are another financial program to choose from. This benefit offers the same number of services for patients who got Medicaid through an employer or through privately.

Of, course hospice care could be paid through other private insurances as well.

To find out more information regarding hospice care cost and eligibility, don’t hesitate in reaching out to us at your preferred hour.