Replies

Here's the dirty little secret this article IS NOT telling you. Hospice care is supposed to be for the LAST THREE TO SIX MONTHS OF LIFE. You're supposed to be recommended by Doctors who are fairly sure...you are re-evaluated every month or so.

Now, here's the interesting part...HOSPICE IS A BUSINESS, like any other. They NEED CUSTOMERS. My mother was in the hospice system for three years.

That being said, I still think it saves Medicare money. My Mom was going to the hospital every other week it seemed and she was miserable. When she said, NO MORE HOSPITALS, her doctor was the one who suggested hospice. Like many other people, I though hospice was totally end of life. I had two experiences with hospice. One with my brother who died of cancer at a wonderful facility in Claremont, CA. His stay was about two weeks. and my Dad, who died at his home with hospice care. He had the service for less than a week.

My mom was one of these people they're talking about in the article. When recommended, the doc was sure she was end of life. But when she had this wonderful hospice service at my home, as she lived with me the last seven years of her life, she just kept getting better and happier.

I still believe it's cost effective. I believe one week of intense hospital care is more expensive than a whole year of hospice and not nearly as helpful. So it's up to the government (yea, sure), to tighten up the rules or realize that people want to be comfortable towards the end of their lives, they don't want to be in a cold hospital and linger indefinitely, if possible, they'd rather be at home for a shorter time with people who love them.