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| News & Events |
| December 15, 2009
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| TWO CUTS ARE TOO MUCH FOR HOSPICE |
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By Patricia Degan, Public Relations Director
and Stephen Schinnagel, VP of Hospice Services
Niagara Hospice
During this season of giving and gathering with friends and family, many of us also choose a favorite charity or cause to support. You may choose to help through a financial contribution or by volunteering your time and talents to a worthy cause. We all know times have been hard economically and we will march into 2010 with the hope that we have seen the worst and soon be on an upswing. With that said, there is one very big way you can help Niagara Hospice and every hospice around the country - right now. It won’t cost you a thing and it can be done in less than five minutes.
Recently Congress increased a component of hospice reimbursement by 2.1 percent while at the same time decreased a different component by .7 percent. The net result for 2010 will be a small increase that falls short of the rising costs of hospice care for everything from medical supplies to gasoline. The future may prove to be even more challenging with cuts to hospice reimbursement being proposed for years 2011 through 2016. If passed, many hospices will be forced to close their operations or severely limit services and service areas. The economic consequences of these future reductions will severely impact many hospices’ ability to meet the ever-increasing demands for quality end of life care.
Ironically, the one program (Hospice) known to actually save the Medicare program dollars (Duke University 2007), is unduly subject to the same budgetary knife as other more costly political endeavors. Hospice care is an exceptional benefit to all Americans and part of the health care reform solution by demonstrated savings from acute hospitalizations and uncoordinated end-of-life care for non-hospice patients. In addition to this significant savings to the Medicare program, hospice care also combines the attributes of excellent patient care, pain and symptom management, family support and bereavement care.
The House has already passed the productivity cuts to hospice as part of health care reform, and the Senate bill contains similar language. Fortunately, hospice champions in the Senate are working toward an alternative. The anticipated Wyden-Feingold amendment would strike the hospice productivity cuts and, instead, offer an alternative that would take into account hospice's unique patient-centered approach.
No patient is ever turned away from Niagara Hospice because of an inability to pay. In addition to the charity care we provide, many of our patients receive services not covered by the Medicare benefit such as massage therapy, pet visits, art and music therapy, as well as many volunteer services that are managed out of pocket by Niagara Hospice. Additionally, we provide bereavement counseling services to surviving family members for thirteen months following the death of their loved one. Further reductions in the Medicare reimbursement will have a devastating impact on an already streamlined hospice system of care.
Also consider the fact that unlike hospital building projects, there are no state or federal funds available for hospice capital projects. Niagara Hospice is currently adding two suites to Niagara Hospice House. As with the initial campaign to build Niagara Hospice House, we must depend on the generosity of our community and area foundations as well as our fiscal aptitude to complete this project.
When most of us come in to this world we are surrounded by love, comfort and care. Hospice workers believe we each deserve the same when we leave. It is important to note that most families want hospice care. Over and over, we hear from family members of hospice patients that they wish they had known about hospice or called hospice sooner.
The Niagara Hospice mission is to provide the right care, in the right place, at the right time. We are asking our friends in the community to do the right thing - contact your members in Congress this week and ask them to support the Wyden-Feingold amendment to stop any proposed cuts to the Hospice Wage Index. We urge you to tell them that, “Two cuts are too much for Hospice!” An easy way to do this is to go on-line to the following link: http://capwiz.com/nhpco/issues/alert/?alertid=14416851&PROCESS=Read+More - less than five minutes of your time can make a difference! |
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