Free Republic

One in four terminally ill people who need expert end-of-life care are not receiving it because of funding pressures, the hospice movement has told Sky News. Hospice UK said as many as 118,000 people in the UK with terminal or life-limiting conditions are not able to access palliative care from its members. On average, hospices most of which are charities, receive just one-third of their funding from the NHS and rely on donations, shops, bequests and investments for the rest. Hospice UK said two-thirds of hospices had their NHS funding cut or frozen last year. It argues that with more...

Two hospice care centers are struggling to make ends meet, and Obamacare’s cuts to Medicare are to blame. Hospices—health care facilities for the terminally ill—along with other Medicare providers are facing Medicare pay cuts. Of the $716 billion in payment reductions, hospice care was hit by a $17 billion payment cut from 2013 to 2022. Now, contrary to all of the misleading claims, this effect is already beginning. San Diego Hospice recently laid off 260 workers, closed a 24-bed hospital, and has recently filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. San Diego Hospice’s financial condition is attributed mainly to reduced Medicare reimbursement,...

Hundreds of hospice providers across the country are facing the catastrophic financial consequence of what would otherwise seem a positive development: their patients are living longer than expected. Over the last eight years, the refusal of patients to die according to actuarial schedules has led the federal government to demand that hospices exceeding reimbursement limits repay hundreds of millions of dollars to Medicare. The charges are assessed retrospectively, so in most cases the money has long since been spent on salaries, medicine and supplies. After absorbing huge assessments for several years, often by borrowing at high rates, a number of...

The whole world watched as 41-year-old Terri Schiavo was slowly starved and dehydrated to death by order of a judicial system that defied Congress, the president and – many believe – the law itself. But the Terri Schiavo story was not unique, as a stunning new edition of WND's monthly Whistleblower magazine – titled "WHO LIVES, WHO DIES?" – makes frighteningly clear. In fact, Terri's case is only the tip of the iceberg. http://shop.wnd.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=108 Take the case of Marjorie Nighbert, for example. Although she had asked for nothing more than a "little something to eat" and a drink of water,...

What happened? Hello? Hello? Anybody home? "MESSAGE TO DISABLED FLORIDIANS" December 1998, Florida By Governor-elect Jeb Bush "Talking with a variety of Floridians with disabilities and their families has helped understand a lot more about the lives, challenges and dreams of those with disabilities. However, I know that my education continues with everyone new I meet. People with disabilities are no different than anyone else. They want to work, have families, and live independently. As Governor, I would work hard to create an environment that gives people with disabilities every opportunity to be independent and play an active role in...

Posted on Tue, Nov. 11, 2003 LEARN MORE Florida case puts focus on living wills MORE NOW SEE BENEFITS TO PLANNING AHEAD By Mary Meehan HERALD-LEADER STAFF WRITER Lexington attorney David Godfrey usually hears from seniors wanting to create living wills. Lately, he is hearing from people in their 30s and 40s. The highly publicized case of Terri Schiavo, a Florida woman at the center of a legal controversy over the right-to-die, has people pondering the uncomfortable question of whether they would want to be kept alive when their brain has essentially died. A living will spells out exactly what...