Who pays for hospice services?
Hospice care is reimbursed by Medicare, Medi-Cal, private insurance and managed health plans. For services and medications unrelated to a patient’s terminal diagnosis, Medicare and Medi-Cal will continue to provide their normal benefits. Pacific Hospice Care will work with you to access any hospice benefits available through HMOs and private insurance. Medi-Cal and some personal insurance plans cover room and board expenses at nursing homes.

When to consider hospice care?
At any time during a terminal illness, it’s appropriate to discuss all of a patient’s care options, including hospice, for example

  • when the patient has been hospitalized multiple times
  • emergency room visits are increasing
  • desire to receive compassionate care at home or skilled nursing facility surrounded by loved ones
  • patient and family prefer less invasive palliative care over aggressive curative treatment
Pacific Hospice Care accepts patients who have a life-expectancy of six months or less and who are referred by their personal physician, hospital discharge planner, social worker or facility staff. If the patient’s condition improves and the disease seems to be in remission, patients can be discharged from hospice and return to aggressive therapy or go on about their daily life. If the discharged patient should later need to return to hospice, Medicare, Medi-Cal and most private insurance will allow additional coverage for this purpose.

For more information call Pacific Hospice Care at (800) 787-5147