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How Long Can Someone With Dementia Receive Hospice Benefits?
As long as recertification requirements continue to be met, there is no set time limit for how long someone can receive hospice benefits. This means, for example, that if patients […]
As long as recertification requirements continue to be met, there is no set time limit for how long someone can receive hospice benefits. This means, for example, that if patients with late-stage dementia outlive their 6-month life expectancy confirmed upon admission, hospice will still provide ongoing care if clinical decline is continually confirmed. Patients with other terminal diagnoses can remain on hospice for a period of more than 6 months as long as the hospice medical director or another hospice physician certifies that they are terminally ill. After the initial six-month admission, the doctor must recertify the patient’s status every 60 days.
Dementia is one of the top four primary diagnoses for hospice patients (others include cancer, heart disease, and lung disease). However, Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia have become the largest group of principal diagnoses for hospice patients since 2002 according to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. More than half of all hospice recipients have some form of dementia.
Unlike patients with cancer or other end-stage diseases, gauging life expectancy for those with dementia can be quite difficult. NHPCO reports the average hospice enrollee received benefits for an average of 92.6 days in 2019. Patients with cancer were in hospice only an average of 45 days while those with dementia averaged 126 days.
Sources
“Certification and Recertification”. National Alliance for Care at Home. https://allianceforcareathome.org/regulatory-compliance/certification-and-recertification/
“10 Signs Death Is Near When a Person Has Dementia”. VeryWell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/what-is-it-like-to-die-of-dementia-1132331
“Hospice care”. Medicare. https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care
“Hospice Regulations May Be Adversely Affecting Dementia Patients”. Hospice News. https://hospicenews.com/2022/05/27/hospice-regulations-may-be-adversely-affecting-dementia-patients/
