Costs and Insurance
Is hospice care covered by insurance?
Yes. Medicare, Medicaid and most other health insurance plans cover all or part of the costs of hospice care.
What care and services are usually covered?
Everything required to care for a patient's terminal illness, including the following, as needed:
- Medical and nursing care
- 24-hour on-call nursing
- Pain and symptom management
- Drugs and other medications
- Hospice aide services
- Physical, occupational and speech therapy
- Medical supplies and equipment
- Social services
- Spiritual support
- Volunteer support
- Bereavement services
What are the charges for staying at the Hospice House?
There are three levels of care at the Hospice House
- Acute care;
- Residential care; and,
- Respite care
For those who have
acute care needs that require constant medical management, charges will usually be covered in full under hospice insurance benefits. For those who are stable - and are receiving
residential care - an out-of-pocket room and board charge is required. Currently, the cost for one day of residential care at the Hospice House is $200. Patients' conditions may vary from day to day; their care will be classified as either acute or residential on a daily basis.
Respite care is a 5-day program for people receiving care at home when their caregivers need a break.
How are hospice services covered for nursing home patients?
When nursing home residents choose Hospice of the Hills to provide their care, we will oversee all of their medical care and provide all of the services and equipment needed to manage their terminal illnesses. While Medicare and most insurance plans will cover this, the patient will still have to pay the nursing home's daily room and board fee. (For those on Medicaid, the room and board charge will be covered by Medicaid.)
Please understand: Medicare will not pay for hospice care and "skilled nursing home care" at the same time. When patients are eligible for skilled nursing care benefits - but are considering switching to hospice care – Hospice of the Hills will provide information that will help them evaluate what choice is best for them.
How is hospice care covered on a Medicare HMO plan?
Medicare HMOs do not provide hospice coverage. However, patients can easily turn to basic Medicare for hospice coverage, while still retaining their HMO to cover services unrelated to their terminal illness. For example, if a hospice patient receiving care for terminal cancer falls and breaks a leg, coverage for treating the leg would still be provided by the HMO plan.
Is financial assistance available to those who may need it?
Because of generous contributions from the community, no patient is ever turned away from hospice services in the home because of an inability to pay. For those who have no insurance or limited financial resources, they may be eligible for the Financial Assistance Program. Program benefits are calculated using an income-related schedule. Optional services such as residential care may not be covered by Financial Assistance Program.
For more information on our Financial Assistance Program, please
click here.