Hospice and Palliative Care: Who Pays?
Finding out that your loved one is grappling with a terminal illness or is in need of hospice care can be devastating. You may be trying to process your feelings over the imminent loss of your loved one. You may be coming to terms with your own mortality. You may be figuring out how to explain the situation to your children or how to be there for younger members of your family.
The last thing you want to worry about when your loved one is seriously ill or dying is how to pay for the important care that they need. You don’t want to have to fight with relatives about who has to pay for what, and you don’t want to add the financial stress of paying for it yourself to the serious emotional stress you are already dealing with.
Fortunately, it is rare that the patient or the family end up paying for hospice care near Scottsdale.
Medicare and Medicaid
Many people who need hospice care are seniors, which means that they have Medicare for their health care needs. Medicare Part A covers 100 percent of hospice services, so the family does not end up paying for this needed care. Other Medicare benefits cover the majority of the cost for hospice services.
Those who do not have Medicare may qualify for Medicaid. This program is available to people of any age who fall within the low-income guidelines set. Medicaid will cover the majority of hospice services, if not all, depending on what is required.
It is worth noting that Medicare and Medicaid cover a variety of services related to Scottsdale hospice care, including medication, equipment like wheelchairs and beds, incontinence supplies, and more.
Private Insurance
Most private insurance plans provide some coverage for hospice care. The better the insurance plan, the more it will cover. Some will cover the entire cost of care, and others will cover only a percentage. Some will cover a certain amount only after a deductible is met.
Before you assume anything about your coverage and then get a nasty surprise when the bill arrives in the mail, contact your insurance provider to find out exactly what services are covered and for how much. If your parent or other loved one who is not on your insurance is getting hospice care near Scottsdale, you will have to call their insurance provider for details.
Foundation
Some hospices, like Americare Hospice, have a hospice Foundation that can help provide the funding for uninsured patients. The non-profit organization accepts donations to provide care to the uninsured or provide for necessary items not covered by insurance.
Family Funds
If none of these resources is available, you will need to consider what family funds are available to cover the cost of care. It is at this point that many families get into contentious discussions. Financial matters always have a way of causing serious arguments among family members.
Hopefully, your loved one would have savings set aside to take care of Scottsdale hospice care or other medical needs at the end of life. You should look into the availability of such funds and apply those toward care first. If no such funds are available, you will need to have a hard conversation with family members about the overall cost of care and how it can be divided. Enlist the help of a financial counselor or a mediator to work through this conversation if needed. The conversation can become emotionally heated quickly, so having a third party there to help can keep arguments at a minimum.
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Medical care at the end of life can be costly, even if it is care focused on comfort measures rather than treatment, like hospice care near Scottsdale. Explore resources like Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance to find out what is covered, then look at the availability of family funds to cover the rest.
At Americare Hospice and Palliative Care in Arizona, our financial counselors help patients and their families figure out how to pay for the important care that they need. Our compassionate and dedicated staff help families through every aspect of hospice care near Scottsdale, including providing spiritual counselors and grief support services. We do everything we can to make these final months with your loved one as good as they can be, as well as to make those final months as peaceful as they can be for the sick, loved one. Contact us in Arizona today to learn more about our hospice services and financing the cost of care.
Published By:
1212 N. Spencer St., Suite #2
Mesa, Arizona 85203
Office: (480) 726-7773
Fax: (480) 726-7790
Email: info@americarehospice.org
