Less than a third can return to their homes. One option for this group could be assisted living facilities. Assisted-living facilities that are designed for functionally impaired people encourage communication and promote both independence and safety. C hristakis, Nicholas A., and Jose J. Escarce. Survival of Medicare Patients After Enrollment in Hospice Programs.
Hospice care is palliative care designed to ease the patients' mental and physical suffering.
Medicare first covered hospice care in 1982. A Medicare beneficiary with a terminal illness who elects hospice care gives up all coverage for curative medical care. Each year more than 220,000 Medicare beneficiaries receive care in this setting. The number of beneficiaries receiving hospice care has been growing at an annual rate of 10 to 20 percent, according to the Health Care Financing Administration. The authors of this study analyzed Medicare claims data and followed over 6,400 hospice patients for a minimum of 27 months.