Non-Certified Hospice Cost Analysis: Final Report

摘要

The purpose of the contract was to determine: the costs associated with hospices which are not certified to receive reimbursement under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, the characteristics of non-certified hospices and their patient populations, how costs vary across different types of hospices and different patient populations, and why non-certified hospices elected not to participate in the Medicare hospice benefit. The final report presents analyses that show that all three models of hospice were operating, on average, below the Medicare hospice benefit cap on average cost per patient of $6,500. The patient capacity was 32.7, and 79% of the non-certified hospices could handle 30 or fewer patients. Ninety-four percent of the non-certified hospices patients were enrolled for less than 210 days (the original Medicare benefit limit); more than three-quarters of hospice patients had lengths of stay equal to or less than 90 days. The report notes that the three hospice types represent appreciably different cost environments.