Parent On Hospice Care Services? Information You Should Find Helpful

Health & Medical Blog

If one of your parents has been sent home on hospice, and you have to help care for them, it can be very hard to deal with.  There are things the family will have to deal with, such as costs associated with hospice care, and how long they will receive their care. The information below may answer some of the questions that you have about this type of care.

How Long Is The Care

Hospice care is for people that have 6 months or less to live. If your parent lives past this point, they may still be able to receive hospice care, but only if the doctor rectifies that your parent is still terminally ill.

If your parent gets better, the hospice will stop, and they can return to their normal treatment, such as going to the doctor.

If your parent becomes ill again, they can go back to hospice care as it was before with no problem.

Hospice can be a great help to families that have a terminally ill family member. Your parent will see the hospice nurse frequently, so you should make sure they get along well with each other.

Costs Associated With Hospice Care

If your parent were in ICU instead of on hospice, the bill will be much higher. There are still costs associated with hospice, however.  If your parent is on an insurance plan or receives insurance through the government, in many cases they would cover most if not all of these costs. Some of the costs you or your insurance company will pay include:

• A Registered Nurse that is trained in symptom and pain management and end of life care. They will make routine visits to the home, as needed.
• A licensed practical nurse, as well as Hospice Aides, who will provide your parent with personal care needs.
• 24-hour on call services
• Prescription medications
• Dietary counseling
• Speech, occupational, and/or physical therapy

You should check with your insurance company about these costs and others to see if they are covered under your plan.

The patient may also need to have things like a hospital bed, bedside commode, bedpan, walker, cane, lift chair, etc. The doctor will let the hospice and you know of the equipment your parent will need to have at home. Again, the insurance company or government insurance plan should cover this equipment.

Patients typically pay for any services that are not covered by their insurance plan or the government. In some cases, hospice is provided to patients for no charge if the patient does not have financial resources. For more help, try contacting a company like Cornerstone Hospice and Palliative Care/ Akers Media to learn more.

17 October 2014