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My mom just went onto hospice in June. She is in a NH and shattered her hip. So she is now bedfast, so between that and other items, now qualifies for hospice.

Just got the CMS (Centers for Medicaid & Medicare) statement for June:
30 hospice visits / 4 skilled nurse visits / 12 aide-home health visits = $ 4,366.50.
Of this Medicare (federally funded) paid $ 4,280.00.
I think the $ 86.00 difference is paid by Medicaid (a state & federal joint program).

Yes, over 4K for hospice in a single month. Mom's NH room & board are in addition to this. Thank goodness she is on Medicaid. Her state's Medicaid reinbursement rate is about $ 145.00, so that alone was $ 4,350.00 which was paid jointly by the state & fed's. So between them it's over 8K plus medications. My mom doesn't have heavy medication costs either, she is just super old (mid late 90's) with Lewy Body dementia. Easily over 100K a year on her.

Pretty astounding. Really I don't see how the system can continue to pay for elders care & needs at this rate when the tsunami of boomers hit needing NH.
it will not be pretty.....
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Hospice care is funded by patients paying through Medicare, Medicaid, and Private insurance with a hospice benefit (not all have one) If there is no payment source then the patient is responsible on a sliding scale. No one is turned away if they have no means to pay. Many people ask for memorial donations be sent to hospice. Some leave money in their wills. Hospice will hold fundraisers, by selling flowers, plants and bazaars and anything else they can think of. local businesses will often donate their services and sometimes the United Way provides a grant. Medicare pays much less than it typically costs to provide adequate patient care. It is a set daily amount that must cover nursing services, home health aids, medications, equipment and supplies.
medications can cost $100s a week, equipment is rented and covers such things as hospital beds, oxygen, commodes, walkers, egg crate mattress and other things. Anyone who has an incontinent loved one knows the cost of Depends etc so you can see a not for profit hospice in a poor area struggles to make ends meet and provide first class case. Nurses are paid less than the average in their area and the mileage allowance is typically less than the federally set amount. If a hospice receives Medicare they are required to provide a certain number of hours worked by volunteers. There are strict rules about what a volunteer may or may not do. For example a retired nurse can not provide nursing services or make any decisions regarding the patient. This means people with skills can not be used as free labor. There is a lot more to running a hospice than running a nurses agency.
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What do you mean by "funding"?
I know of some hospice groups that recieve government grants for supplies. I haven't heard of a hospice group that is primarily funded by the state or federal government. Most use insurance, donations and grants. I guess it would be dependent on which hospice group you are referring.
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