What impact has hospice had in the United States?
A. Hospices across the US care for nearly twenty percent of all dying patients. Rather than attempt to keep a patient alive at all costs, hospice offers a humane alternative to aggressive medical treatment for the terminally ill. In the United States, over 2,800 hospices cared for more than 540,000 patients in 1998. Today hospice employs more than 25,000 paid professionals, and approximately 96,000 volunteers contribute more than five million hours of services. Hospice care is now a covered benefit under most public and private health plans, including Medicare. In fact, a 1995 study shows that for every dollar spent on hospice by Medicare, $1.52 was saved in government Medicare expenditures. “While hope for a miracle cure may not be evident in hospice philosophy,” states Jay Mahoney, former president of the National Hospice Foundation, “hospice care can be an extraordinary expression of hope and individual courage.” This philosophy of hope is at the heart of the hospice movement.
A. Hospices across the US care for nearly twenty percent of all dying patients. Rather than attempt to keep a patient alive at all costs, hospice offers a humane alternative to aggressive medical treatment for the terminally ill. In the United States, over 2,800 hospices cared for more than 540,000 patients in 1998. Today hospice employs more than 25,000 paid professionals, and approximately 96,000 volunteers contribute more than five million hours of services. Hospice care is now a covered benefit under most public and private health plans, including Medicare. In fact, a 1995 study shows that for every dollar spent on hospice by Medicare, $1.52 was saved in government Medicare expenditures. “While hope for a miracle cure may not be evident in hospice philosophy,” states Jay Mahoney, former president of the National Hospice Foundation, “hospice care can be an extraordinary expression of hope and individual courage.” This philosophy of hope is at the heart of the hospice movement. — R
