A recent article in the New York Times shed light on a topic that continues to be front and center: nonprofit hospices are providing better care than for-profit hospices. To read the full article, click here.
All hospices within a geographic area receive the same daily payment per Medicare beneficiary, but patients enrolled in nonprofits receive more visits from nurses, social workers and therapists, according to a 2019 study by the consulting firm Milliman. For-profits are more likely to discharge patients before they die, a particularly distressing experience for families. Dr. Joan Teno, a Brown University health policy researcher, and her team reported in 2015 on these “burdensome transitions,” in which patients were discharged, hospitalized and then readmitted to hospice.
As an independent nonprofit, your care – not profit – is our top priority at Lumina Hospice & Palliative Care. We have been providing compassionate care to our community for over 40 years (founded as Benton Hospice Service in 1980). In addition to hospice and palliative care, Lumina also offers supportive care, grief support, and caregiver support to anyone in our community. For more information about our service area or for questions related to hospice care, please reach out to us.
