Clearly, the way health care is funded and provided in our country needs fixing. Mission critical.
While it is far from perfect, and the president event admits this, the Affordable Care Act is just one step in the right direction. The only way health care costs can be reduced is if everyone pays into the system and shares those costs, not just those that have health care coverage and who bear the brunt of the rising costs. And those who cannot afford coverage will have options available. Depending upon your point of view, all of these provisions are up for debate, of course.
But what we want to talk about is the practical effect the Affordable Care Act will have on the provision of hospice care.
Medicare is the greatest source of reimbursement to providers of hospice care, about 80 percent of their revenue. The Medicare patient pays no deductible and only a minimal fee for prescription drugs.
When across the board cuts are made to Medicare, reimbursement rates drop to the providers. But their costs in salaries, benefits, equipment, drugs, etcetera, etcertera continue to increase. The financial gap widens and they must look at services and staff.
Hospice care is very family- and patient-centered. It is difficult to quanify in dollars the nature of the interactions between the hospice team and the dying patient and family...it is intensive and takes as long as it takes...
Hospice Foundation does not want them to be impacted and we know you don't want that too. That's why we need EVERYONE's help in funding this care. We aggregate the dollars we receive in donations across many of these vital services so that they can continue to do what they do so well. The individual providers of care do not have the capacity to raise the dollars they need on their own...they really depend upon our grants to help them.
Mission critical.
Please consider a donation today to Hospice Foundation. Help Us, Help Them.
