A re-envisioned report on hospice access and usage in the U.S.

Alexandria, Va, July 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization has issued the most recent edition of its annual report, NHPCO Facts and Figures (PDF) that provides an overview of hospice care delivery in the U.S. with specific information on who receives care, how much care was provided, who is providing that care, and Medicare spending on hospice care.

The annual report has been reformatted to reflect a more dynamic, visual presentation of data, which continues to show short lengths of care for Americans at the end of life.

“A significant concern for us at NHPCO continues to be the number of Medicare beneficiaries (40.5 percent) who received hospice care for 14 days or less, with 27.8 percent accessing this person- and family-centered care for a week or less,” said NHPCO President and CEO Edo Banach.

“We must do better to ensure that all those who will benefit from hospice care – or palliative care earlier in the course of a serious illness – have access to this compassionate, high-quality care,” Banach added.

Representative Statistics

• 1.49 million Medicare beneficiaries, a 4.5 percent increase from the prior year, were enrolled in hospice care for one day or more in 2017.
• 48.2 percent of Medicare beneficiaries who died in 2017 were enrolled in hospice at the time of death.
• 40.5 percent of patients received care for 14 days or less, while those receiving care for more than 180 days accounted for 14.1 percent.
• At 98.2 percent, Routine Home Care accounts for the vast majority of days of care.
• $18.99 billion was spent on hospice care by Medicare in 2017, representing an increase of 6.3 percent.
• Since 2014, beneficiaries identified as Asian and Hispanic increased by 32 percent and 21 percent respectively.

A new addition to the annual report includes state rankings of individuals enrolled in Medicare who died under the care of hospice. From Utah, with the highest hospice care usage of 59.4 percent, to Alaska which came in at the bottom of the list with 22.5 percent of beneficiaries receiving hospice at the time of death. This new graph demonstrates differences in hospice usage across the U.S.

NHPCO encourages people to visit nhpco.org and to download the new report, NHPCO Facts and Figures (PDF).

Attachment

• NHPCO_Facts_Figures_2018

Jon Radulovic
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
703-837-3139
jradulovic@nhpco.org

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