CMS on Hospice

Open Letter from CMS Administrator

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) believe hospice care is an essential Medicare benefit that can bring physical and emotional care to the terminally ill individual and his or her family when life nears its end. However, we are concerned that some individuals who may want hospice care, and could benefit from it, may not be learning about it or may be learning about it late in the course of their illness. Therefore, we are requesting that members of the physician community, as well as other health care professionals, think more about hospice as they care for terminally ill patients...
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Commentary in Professional Journals

Increasing numbers of Americans — and their physicians — now recognize that much of the pain and sense of hopelessness that accompany terminal illness can be eased by services designed specifically to help them: services that are covered by Medicare. End-of-life care offers the satisfaction of easing physical and emotional pain through effective palliative treatment when cure is not possible...
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