provided to assist the patient at home. Under the guidance of the hospice team, family members or friends are often the primary care givers. About 90% of hospice services are delivered in the patient’s home. Respite for the caregiver is provided and patients can be placed up for medication and symptom management. Patients that are able to visit relatives out of town and still be covered under what the program call “courtesy coverage”. Patients are also assigned to hospice programs depending on their illness, the type of cancer, and any other chronic conditions and they provide treatments needed (Byrock, 1998). Care also can be provided in the place that the person chooses to call home whether that is their home or a friend or family member’s home. Insurance’s including Medicare and Medicaid, cover hospice 100%, which mean the patient and/or family members does not have out-of-pocket expense, providing a sense of security and relief. The hospice program has an average cost of $200 per day and covers all the services provided to the patient. How do we know a hospice care is needed for a patient? When physicians after exhausting all available treatments and the patient is considered terminally ill, is when hospice care is suggested is the best option. The physician certifies that a patient is appropriate for hospice care, and the patient is then assigned to a hospice team, which is supportive of both the family and the person who is dying. The team provides nursing care, companionship, spiritual care, emotional support, and home health aide care. The family doesn’t have to take all the services, but they are there if needed as well as counseling. As needed this services make a great difference in people’s lives, today hospice programs are facing a financial risk. A primary concern that hospices face is the realization that reimbursement will not continue to rise at the current rate, and even perha...
