I was reading not long ago that Hospice does not cover all medications.
"Medicare's hospice benefit should cover any prescription drugs you need for pain and symptom management related to your terminal condition. You pay a $5 copayment for outpatient pain and symptom management drugs."
"When you begin hospice care, medication and other treatments to cure or control your serious illness will stop"
"For example, if a person has long-standing high blood pressure but is admitted to hospice due to terminal cancer, the hospice benefit will pay for the cancer drugs, but not the blood-pressure medications. The hospice staff can tell you which drugs are related to your terminal diagnosis, and which are not."
So the prescriptions they pay for are only those used by Hospice to keep your pain free and comfortable and those related to your illness that keep you comfortable is how I look at it.
Medicare will not pay for the facility nor the food that is provided by the facility. And staff that does what Hospice does not do must also be paid. If a CNA comes in to give mom a bath or shower the Facility staff discontinues doing this as it is covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Hospice will have a Nurse come in at least 1 time a week to check on mom. That is covered by Medicare/Medicaid. The Hospice doctor is now your mom's doctor and the facility doctor will no longer write orders or see her. Prescription medication is covered by Medicare/Medicaid and ordered by Hospice. Some over the counter ointments, creams will also be provided by Hospice as will incontinence products, wipes, gloves. So Medicare DOES pay for Hospice it does NOT pay for "room and board"
Medicare does not pay room and board. You are still responsible for that. Medicare pays for the hospice staff, Depends, prescriptions, wipes, equipment, etc.
If, as it says in your profile, mom is living in a snf while getting hospice care, Medicare will not pay for the patients accommodations....JUST for the hospice bills.
"Medicare's hospice benefit should cover any prescription drugs you need for pain and symptom management related to your terminal condition. You pay a $5 copayment for outpatient pain and symptom management drugs."
"When you begin hospice care, medication and other treatments to cure or control your serious illness will stop"
"For example, if a person has long-standing high blood pressure but is admitted to hospice due to terminal cancer, the hospice benefit will pay for the cancer drugs, but not the blood-pressure medications. The hospice staff can tell you which drugs are related to your terminal diagnosis, and which are not."
So the prescriptions they pay for are only those used by Hospice to keep your pain free and comfortable and those related to your illness that keep you comfortable is how I look at it.
If a CNA comes in to give mom a bath or shower the Facility staff discontinues doing this as it is covered by Medicare/Medicaid. Hospice will have a Nurse come in at least 1 time a week to check on mom. That is covered by Medicare/Medicaid. The Hospice doctor is now your mom's doctor and the facility doctor will no longer write orders or see her. Prescription medication is covered by Medicare/Medicaid and ordered by Hospice. Some over the counter ointments, creams will also be provided by Hospice as will incontinence products, wipes, gloves.
So Medicare DOES pay for Hospice it does NOT pay for "room and board"
Are you getting bills from your hospice organization that have been submitted to Medicare and payment denied?
I just saw your other post, and I'm confused by it.
Hospice does not pay for room and board and a nursing home or AL, for instance.