Long-Term Care
Medicare and Medicaid expenditures declined for dually eligible beneficiaries who enrolled in a hospice, especially among those who lived in nursing homes less than three months, a study in Health Services Research reports.
Researchers found that hospice enrollment also reduced CMS spending among beneficiaries who were in nursing homes for longer than three months, but the savings were less significant than shorter stays and varied by condition. In addition, the authors found that current payment policies create an incentive for Medicare to promote hospice enrollment, but a disincentive for Medicaid.
The study recommends that CMS institute a policy in which Medicare makes payments to Medicaid to subsidize the cost of hospice services but notes that additional research is necessary to determine whether such a subsidy could be applied to all states (Gozalo et al., Health Services Research, February 2008).