New Office of Inspector General Report: Hospice Deficiencies Pose Risks to Medicare Beneficiaries

WHY WE DID THIS STUDY  

The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified significant vulnerabilities in the Medicare hospice benefit and found that hospices did not always provide needed services to beneficiaries and sometimes provided poor quality care.  Click here to view report.

Palliative Care/Euthanasia Bill Moving

By Margaret Dore, Esq. (updated 12/10/19)

On January 17, 2019, the "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act" was introduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647 and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. No text was provided.

The Congressional website has since been updated with the posting of a complete bill, which is nearly identical to last session's H.R. 1676, as amended. (The companion bill was S. 693).

If enacted, the new bill, H.R. 647, will undermine the Office of the Inspector General's mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See for example, this link concerning last session's bills https://www.choiceillusionendtheabuse.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-help-committee-vote.html#more  

US "Palliative Care" Act Has Been Reintroduced

By Margaret Dore, Esq.

The "Palliative Care and Hospice Education and Training Act," formerly S. 693 and H.R. 1676, has been reintroduced in the 116th Congress as H.R. 647. I did not see a Senate version. The full text is not yet available.

The prior Act, if passed into law, would have undermined the Office of the Inspector General's (OIG's) mission to combat Medicare and Medicaid fraud concerning the federal hospice benefit. See  https://www.choiceillusionendtheabuse.org/2018/10/memo-to-us-senate-help-committee-vote.html#more  The Act was also a "springing" or closet euthanasia bill:

Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in the Medicare Hospice Program Is ‘Repellent’

Joanne Chiedi

By Joanne M. Chiedi *

To view original article, click here.

Like many Americans, I have a story about hospice care for a loved one. When my father was dying from complications of dementia and diabetes, hospice caregivers sat with him, provided pain relief, and helped him be comfortable. They also gave my mother peace of mind that her beloved husband was receiving kind attention in his final weeks. To this day, she refers to those hospice workers as angels.

Sadly, not every family’s story is a positive one.