Investigation Reveals Rampant Fraud by Privatized Hospice Groups

[Judi Lynn]

Published on Friday, December 27, 2013 by Common Dreams

Investigation Reveals Rampant Fraud by Privatized Hospice Groups

Siphoning billions of Medicare dollars, for-profit hospice companies found recruiting non-dying patients

- Lauren McCauley, staff writer

A Washington Post investigation into the world of hospice care published Thursday found that what was initially intended to be a peaceful end-of-life alternative led by religious and community organizations, has now evolved into a $17 billion for-profit industry ripe with scams and abuse.

Hospice care, which focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill rather than finding a cure, is funded primarily by Medicare—which makes an estimated 85 to 90 percent of all payments to hospices.

Quick to capitalize on this booming industry, since 2000 the number of hospices run by for-profit companies has jumped from 30 percent to nearly 60 percent—with an even larger share of the patients; during the same period, Medicare expenditures on hospice jumped from $2.9 billion to $15.1 billion.

And as the Post investigation reveals, in order to maximize profits, these for-profit hospice groups have begun aggressively recruiting patients who aren't actually dying.

More:
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/12/27-4

[Judi Lynn]

1. ‘Hospice survivors’ a costly trend for Medicare

‘Hospice survivors’ a costly trend for Medicare
Originally published December 28, 2013 at 2:28 PM | Page modified December 28, 2013 at 7:39 PM

The number of “hospice survivors” has soared as hospices earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t dying, a Washington Post investigation finds.

By Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating
The Washington Post

Hospice patients are expected to die: The treatment focuses on providing comfort to the terminally ill, not finding a cure. To enroll a patient, two doctors certify a life expectancy of six months or less.

But in the past decade, the number of “hospice survivors” in the United States has risen substantially, in part because hospice companies earn more by recruiting patients who aren’t dying, a Washington Post investigation has found. Healthier patients are more profitable because they require fewer visits and stay enrolled longer.

The proportion of patients discharged alive from hospice care rose about 50 percent between 2002 and 2012, according to an analysis of more than 1 million hospice patients’ records over 11 years in California, a state that makes public detailed descriptions and that, by virtue of its size, offers a portrait of the industry.

The average length of a stay in hospice care also jumped substantially in that time, in California and nationally, according to the analysis. Profit per patient quintupled, to $1,975, California records show.

More:
http://seattletimes.com/html/nationworld/2022552278_hospicesbottomlinexml.html?cmpid=2628