Hospice lobbyists battle over Medicare payment system

[RamboLiberal]

Source: USA Today

For-profit hospice organizations have spent more than $1million this year lobbying to prevent Medicare from reducing payments to try to curb the soaring cost of hospice care.

The nation's two largest for-profit hospice companies, Vitas and Gentiva, have together spent $1,188,100 on lobbying this year, records show. Their top priority is a bill by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs the Medicare program, to test a new payment system for two years. That program wouldn't start until October 2013, the bill states, which would delay any changes in payments for at least four years.

In the first half of 2011, Vitas paid $390,000 to Washington lobbyists, according to lobbying reports. The company receives 90% of its revenue from Medicare and Medicaid, according to its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The document shows they are lobbying because "Medicare and Medicaid programs are increasing pressure to control health care costs and to decrease or limit increases in reimbursement rates."

Gentiva spent $798,100 in the same time period on lobbying, saying Wyden's bill is its top legislative priority.



Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2011-08-15-hospices-medicare-lobbying_n.htm

[dipsydoodle]

1. Shame they didn't just spend the $1,188,100

on those in their care.

[Maine_Nurse]

2. I have no illusions about for-profit hospice services...

however I am a volunteer at a non-profit (and charity care) hospice and I can tell you that the govt freezing and even cutting reimbursement to the most cost-effective means to treat terminally-ill patients is just plain stupid. For the cost of a day's worth of ICU care for one patient, you can provide a day's hospice care to 15-20 patients and they have better quality of life and less pain/suffering.

[bemildred]

3. Hospices are great, hospice people are great, for-profit hospices should not be allowed. nt

[jwirr]

5. Exactly. If they have been receiving what Social Security usually

pays - they pay everyone the same and put limits on it - then they should not be cut because this is a service that actually save money. I think they are just protesting the HCR change for reimbursement that is coming up. Don't know of any health care providers who are happy about that one.

[russspeakeasy]

9. Thank you Maine-_Nurse...Been there done that and your

comment is right on...:toast:

[sinkingfeeling]

4. Why do we even have for-profit hospice companies? I will add something to my living will to

prevent anybody from using one of those for me.

[w8liftinglady]

6. I agree. my dad used VA hospice. They were wonderful

[oldbanjo]

7. If they can aford to pay over i,000,000 lobbing then they

are charging too much.

[Maine_Nurse]

10. Nobody charges too much, profit or non, we all get paid the same...

but as the article states, the for-profit services often "cherry pick" the easy cases that don't cost much to care for. What happens is that we all get $143 per day to care for these patients. That means on some days we spend $500 in labor costs and $300 on meds, then the days where we have zero costs balance them out, or at least we hope so. Unfortunately, the for-profits try to get as many "simple and cheap" cases as possible. What that leaves for the rest of us are the nasty cancer/aids/etc cases that can use up so many resources that you lose money every day. We non-profits take all the cases, good or bad, and hope that we somewhat balance out at the end of the year and/or that our donors make up the difference.

[eagertolearn]

11. Yes that is happening. By the time the doctor OK's hospice the private

hospice in the facilities has already been talking to the resident. Sometimes they en have people working in a facility recruiting for the private hospice.

[blueclown]

8. The leeches of Medicare and Medicaid.

These for-profit hospice companies have been sucking money out of taxpayers for years and years. Lower their reimbursement rates. This is one example of a Medicare cut that makes sense.