The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences
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J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci · May 2016
Hospice Use, Hospitalization, and Medicare Spending at the End of Life.
Prior studies associate hospice use with reduced hospitalization and spending at the end of life based on all Medicare hospice beneficiaries. In this study, we examine the impact of different lengths of hospice care and nursing home residency on hospital use and spending prior to death across 5 disease groups. ⋯ The Medicare hospice benefit is associated with reduced hospital care at the end of life and reduced Medicare expenditures for most enrollees. Policies that encourage timely initiation of hospice and discourage extremely short stays could increase these successes while maintaining program goals.