ChatGPT understands the benefits of hospice care. Why don't we?

Why isn’t the Medicare hospice benefit more accessible given it improves patient care and saves billions annually for tax payers?

We inhibit hospice access with two unnecessary regulations:

1. The six month death certification by a physician. This rule has no clinical foundation. It should be replaced by one that says any patient with a terminal diagnosis is eligible for hospice.

2. The requirement that patients must give up regular Medicare in order to receive hospice. Again this rule has no foundation. In fact Medicare’s own research documents the benefits of allowing patients to have both regular Medicare and hospice simultaneously.

I recently asked ChatGBT to provide me with documentation for the benefits to society for enhancing access to hospice. This what it said:

Medicare achieves significant cost savings when beneficiaries choose hospice care, primarily by reducing hospitalizations, intensive treatments and emergency room visits. Studies estimate that Medicare saves between $2,000 to $7,000 per patient who elects hospice, depending on factors such as timing and diagnosis.

Overall, Medicare’s hospice benefit saves billions of dollars annually. A report from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) indicated that hospice care could reduce Medicare spending by approximately $3 billion to $5 billion per year, though savings vary depending on utilization patterns and patient demographics.

Recent studies have provided more detailed insights into the cost savings Medicare achieves through hospice care:

• Annual Savings: In 2019, hospice care resulted in approximately $3.5 billion in Medicare savings, equating to a 3.1% reduction in costs during patients’ last year of life. 

• Per-Patient Savings: For patients with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, enrolling in for-profit hospice care led to about $29,000 in Medicare savings over the first five years post-diagnosis. 

• Impact of Hospice Duration: Longer hospice stays correlate with greater savings. Patients receiving hospice care for six months or more experienced an average cost reduction of 11% compared to non-hospice patients. 

These findings underscore the financial benefits of hospice care for Medicare, alongside the quality-of-life improvements for patients and their families.

Hopefully someone from DOGE reads this common sense savings opportunity.