A recent report finds that a growing number of elderly patients outlive their hospice stay, costing Medicare millions, and raising questions about how we look at end of life care. Some say these conversations should start long before a terminal diagnosis. That they say will end up helping them live more comfortably in their final days, all while reducing the bottom line.
- Patrick Clary – doctor at the New Hampshire Palliative Care Service in Portsmouth
- John Loughnane – medical director at Commonwealth Community Care in Boston
CALLOUT:
- Peter Whoriskey – Washington Post reporter who co-wrote a December article on hospice abuses
* A Washington Post article from December that raises the issue of for-profit hospice firms.
