For-Profit Hospices’ Care of Medicare Patients Questioned by GAO

For-profit hospice providers were more likely to discharge Medicare beneficiaries prior to their death and were less likely to visit these patients in the last three days of life.

The findings from a new Government Accountability Office report suggest a continuation of problems identified in previous reports on hospice care, which aims to improve the quality of life for patients with advanced incurable diseases.

For-profit hospice providers account for about two-thirds of all hospices compared to less than one-third in 2000. Medicare payment to hospices jumped from $2.8 billion in fiscal year 2000 to roughly $17.7 billion in FY 2017. ...