Family caregivers help loved ones suffering from many illnesses, from heart disease to severe arthritis. But a new study shows that one condition—dementia—places an outsized burden on those family members. They spend more hours, do more difficult work, and provide assistance for more years than family members caring for older adults without memory loss. An article in the journal Health Affairs [...]
Large multi-agency, multi-state hospices are fast become the primary source of end-of-life care in the U.S. According to a new study, chains cared for nearly half of all hospice patients in 2011, a dramatic increase from a decade before when small organizations (mostly non-profits) provided three-quarters of all care. And my own review of their financial reports suggests the biggest chains [...]
Health policymakers love the idea of hospice. Yet Medicare seems to be learning exactly the wrong lessons from the success of the program, which provides well-integrated patient-centered comfort care to people with terminal illness. Instead of trying to understand why hospice is growing in popularity, Medicare is instead making it harder to enroll. As often happens in its regulation of [...]
In 2012, about 13 million seniors participated in Medicare Advantage (MA) managed care plans—about 27 percent of the Medicare population and twice as many as were enrolled just seven years ago. This rapid shift to managed care by seniors may be just a first step towards a fundamental change in the way Medicare is delivered and financed. And it has the [...]