Court: You Can Appeal Medicare Decisions About Hospice Services

[xchrom]

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/07/court-affirms-right-to-appeal-medicare-decisions-about-hospice-services/?ref=health

When Emily Back lay dying and in excruciating pain, her hospice made a decision that her husband couldn’t accept.

Ignoring a doctor’s order, the organization said it wouldn’t supply Ms. Back, who was 81, with Actiq, a fast-acting, powerful narcotic that a patient sucks on, like a lollipop.

That outraged Howard Back, who then bought the medication on his own dime and filed a lawsuit after his wife died.

Now a California court decision has resulted in an important clarification, determining that Medicare beneficiaries and their survivors have a right to appeal the denial of services by a hospice provider.

[bemildred]

1. We sure do treat our sick, dying citizens without much compassion.

It's all about the money, and making sure nobody suffers from any illicit euphoria.

[cbayer]

2. While I am glad to know that you are able to appeal, I don't see how this could possibly work.

Medicare is a huge, slow moving behemoth of a bureaucracy. If you are in hospice, you will need someone to make a decision on your appeal within days or even hours. I just can't see this happening with Medicare in it's current state.

[xchrom]

3. Hospice care can go on for quite a while.

While it is 'end of life' - the person can be a ways off from dying and still receive the care.

[cbayer]

4. That's true, but appealing a decision regarding palliative care is not necessarily something

that can wait.

If the whole idea is to make the patient as comfortable as possible, and something like adequate pain management has been denied, how long is someone supposed to wait to have their appeal heard?

I would love to see this become a reality, but Medicare will need significant administrative overhaul before it is a reality, imo.

Anyway, great news. Thanks for posting it (and thank you so much for your steady stream of interesting articles both here and in religion).

[xchrom]

5. ...

[SheilaT]

6. I am so sorry to see this.

Almost everything I've ever heard about hospice care has been totally positive. Both of my in-laws had hospice the last few weeks of their life, and the family was very grateful for it.

[cbayer]

7. I don't think this is an indictment of hospice care, but of Medicare's lack of an appeal process.