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My dad is home on hospice and I understand they are supposed to make his living easier but wont treat his illness. Before he went to hospital he takes insulin for his diabetes and Tamsulosin for his prostate. He ended up in hospital with shortness of breath and they diagnosed him with advance CHF. Given his age and other morbidities they sent him home to hospice. Now when I go get his insulin and Tamsulosin, hospice wont paid for it because it wasn't part of his diagnosis and Medicaid/Medicare wont paid for it because he's with hospice. I wasn't told that hospice won't supply you with other medications. So now his expectancy of 6 months is getting closer, not because of his CHF but because of hospice not giving him insulin because it wasn't part of his diagnose. In order for him to get insulin he has to leave hospice and find an outside doctor. Why didn't they tell me sooner of this mess?

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I am not sure where you live but, I am familiar with many diabetics that purchase their insulin at Wal-mart. No prescription required. Worth looking into if all else fails.
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Niki hi. My Mom has Hospice for one issue. The coding to Medicare/Medicaid coverage for their reimbursement is what distinguishes their care from other claims and needs to be communicated to other providers. I was curious as well so I contacted Medicare and verified the part D coverage as applicable to everything else versus Hospice needs to be clarified as well. Wherever you live you can call Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services Regional Office, they are great to help you with this. Your Dad is entitled to insulin NOW and it is wrong to withhold coverage.
Hospice billing dept. should freely communicate the coding for other providers and services to distinguish the unrelated conditions. Hope this helps.
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Nikki, take a deep breath. In the morning call the hospice nurse and ask what it will take to get this resolved. You can go off hospice for a day , see the doctor and then go back on BUT it seems that with diabetes insulin would be part of the plan. It sounds like an administrative error to me. If the hospice nurse can't help, call the head of the hospice organization and demand a resolution. The squeaky wheel gets the oil . . .
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