I am Speaking up!!!!!!

I am Speaking up!!!!!!
Me and My Knight

Tuesday, February 26, 2019

Today is the 22 month Anniversary of the ILLEGAL Medical Murder of my beloved Husband Bill Knightly


Billy, with two of his special little granddaughter's. They are so lost without him.

Today is the 22 month Anniversary of the ILLEGAL Medical Murder of my beloved Husband Bill Knightly. Still NO prosecutions! Still fighting for Justice! Still sitting in limbo, waiting for OUR Government to step in and do something about my husband's murder, along with ALL of our Loved ones Medically Murdered by the Medical UN-professionals we "Once" trusted. Medical UN-professionals who no longer care about the people they were "once" trained to care for, which is no longer the norm. Real Medical care no longer exist's. Maybe for the elite it does, but not the rest of us. The medical profession has turned into a big money business. No compassion anymore. REAL Doctor's are few and far between. We are nothing more than dollar signs, written off by Death Monger's, Satan's spawn, who find it easier to kill us off than to abide by their Hippocratic Oath. An oath that probably no longer exist's. The Murderers will NEVER forget my Husband's name or the fight I'm giving them. They messed with the family of a truly amazing man. A man who was worth his weight in gold. A man loved by everyone, whose loss is just too much to bear. Every day is worse than the day before. It doesn't get any easier just knowing Medical Murderer's get a free pass. Whatever happened to "Thou shalt NOT kill"? These are crimes against humanity, but our Government does NOTHING to stop them. The land of the free and the home of the brave. That is if you can survive being Medically Murdered!

Extremely Pissed off Wife of Bill Knightly, Medically Murdered by ILLEGAL, NON-consensual Hospice/Palliative care at St. Joseph Hospital in Nashua, NH.

Monday, February 25, 2019

New protein 'switch' could be key to controlling blood-poisoning and preventing death from sepsis

New protein 'switch' could be key to controlling blood-poisoning and preventing death from sepsis

Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered a new protein "switch" that could stop the progression of blood-poisoning, or sepsis, and increase the chances of surviving the life-threatening disease.

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Sepsis Is a Common Cause of Hospital Deaths

Sepsis Is a Common Cause of Hospital Deaths

If you are concerned a loved one may have sepsis, seek care immediately, and ask the doctor, “Could it be sepsis?”
Sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection, is a common cause of deaths in hospitals, according to a new report.
The study looked at 568 people who had died in hospitals and whose average age was 70. More than half had sepsis, and it was the immediate cause of death for nearly 200 of them; another 100 had sepsis but didn’t die of it. Only 36 of the sepsis deaths might have been prevented with earlier antibiotic treatment or other measures, the researchers determined.

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

More Doctors Confessing To Intentionally Diagnosing Healthy People With Cancer To Make Money

More Doctors Confessing To Intentionally Diagnosing Healthy People With Cancer To Make Money

It’s known that chemotherapy and radiation are harmful, however, and regardless of their claims, their true cure rate is under five percent. The cancer industry likes to claim higher rates based on remaining alive for five years or remissions that don’t last. But even after that, many don’t live much longer or their overall health is adversely affected.
Deaths during chemo or radiation are attributed to the disease and never to the treatments, though it has been observed that chemo and radiation do worsen health and even kill. The mainstream cancer industry would fail without insurance to cover their outrageous costs since so few can afford them, while much less expensive and more effective cancer treatments are not covered by insurance in the USA. Economically not so rational, eh?
In one decade alone, oncologists’ incomes have increased over 85 percent even as patient visits increased only 12 percent. Could that be due somewhat to allowing oncologists who administer chemo out of their own offices and clinics to purchase chemotherapy drugs at wholesale and mark them up two fold, ya think?

SPOT TEST New test that detects sepsis in minutes could save thousands of lives – know the signs of killer infection

SPOT TEST 

New test that detects sepsis in minutes could save thousands of lives – know the signs of killer infection

Sepsis kills around 52,000 people a year - that's more than breast, bowel and prostate cancer combined.
A LIFESAVING two-and-a-half minute test for deadly sepsis has been developed by scientists.
The new check could be rolled out across the NHS within three years – and stop thousands of deaths, researchers claim.

Sepsis test could show results 'in minutes'

Sepsis test could show results 'in minutes'

A new rapid test for earlier diagnosis of sepsis is being developed by University of Strathclyde researchers.
The device, which has been tested in a laboratory, may be capable of producing results in two-and-a-half minutes, the Biosensors and Bioelectronics journalstudy suggests.

Nursing home employees indicted for involuntary manslaughter after patient’s death from bedsores Marty Stempniak

Nursing home employees indicted for involuntary manslaughter after patient’s death from bedsores

The Ohio attorney general has indicted seven former Columbus nursing facility workers on dozens of charges following a patient’s 2017 death from bedsores.
Dave Yost announced charges last week against six employees and a contracted nurse practitioner at the Whetstone Gardens and Care Center. All told, the seven individuals have been hit with 34 charges, including involuntary manslaughter, with some stemming from alleged neglectful care of a second patient.

Monday, February 18, 2019

CDC grossly underestimating superbug death toll, researchers find

CDC grossly underestimating superbug death toll, researchers find

Using a method different from the CDC's to estimate the burden of antibiotic-resistant infections, Seattle researchers found a significantly higher number of deaths from multidrug-resistant infections, according to CIDRAP News.
Their method, described in a letter published in November in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, analyzed the nearly 2.5 million inpatient and outpatient deaths that occurred in 2010.
To calculate the number of patients who were likely to have died from multidrug-resistant infections, the researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine used conservative estimates of deaths caused by sepsis and reported rates of multidrug resistance in U.S. hospitals, along with estimates of outpatient deaths caused by infections.
They found the low end of their estimate — at least 153,113 inpatient and outpatient deaths annually from multidrug-resistant infections — is almost seven times higher than the CDC's figure. For several years, the most frequently cited number put forward by the CDC has been 23,000 deaths a year. 
The researchers found their upper-end estimate of 162,044 deaths would make multidrug-resistant infections the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. Researcher Jason Burnham, MD, said he thinks even those numbers could be conservative.

Patient Bleeds To Death After Colonoscopy

Patient Bleeds To Death After Colonoscopy

Last week Hospital Watchdog conducted an in-depth interview with Ms. Dena Royal, a former paramedic, and respiratory therapist. Dena’s mother, Martha Wright, bled to death following a colonoscopy and a series of tragic nursing mistakes at Cass Regional Medical Center in Harrisonville (pop. 10,000) Missouri.
Dena’s vigilance and persistence as a whistleblower led to an investigation by The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Based on interviews and a review of hospital records  CMS found events contributing to her mother’s death and issued various rulings in a Summary Statement of Deficiencies (posted below). Among the key problems, Martha had not been thoroughly assessed when changes in her condition occurred. In one instance, at 10:15 pm, (14 hours after the procedure), the RN failed to perform a thorough assessment that included vital signs and notifying the doctor. What also emerges from the CMS report is that after Martha’s  death the hospital tried to cover up what happened.

Sunday, February 17, 2019

JAMA-Prevalence, Underlying Causes, and Preventability of Sepsis-Associated Mortality in US Acute Care Hospitals

Prevalence, Underlying Causes, and Preventability of Sepsis-Associated Mortality in US Acute Care Hospitals

Question  What is the prevalence of sepsis-associated mortality in US acute care hospitals and how preventable are these deaths?
Findings  In this cohort study reviewing the medical records of 568 patients who were admitted to 6 hospitals and died in the hospital or were discharged to hospice and not readmitted, sepsis was present in 300 hospitalizations (52.8%) and directly caused death in 198 cases (34.9%). However, most underlying causes of death were related to severe chronic comorbidities and only 3.7% of sepsis-associated deaths were judged definitely or moderately preventable.

Here's Why Roughly Half of All Hospital Deaths Could Be Related to Sepsis

Here's Why Roughly Half of All Hospital Deaths Could Be Related to Sepsis

Sepsis is the leading cause of death to hospitalized patients, but to bring down the sepsis-related mortality rate, prevention and care of other major contributing factors would need to change significantly, according to new research published Friday in JAMA Open Network.
Sepsis is a life-threatening infection individuals can develop during hospitalizations, affecting roughly 1.7 million adults in the U.S. annually. Among those infected, sepsis may potentially contribute to more than a quarter of a million deaths. But it’s not truly known how pervasive sepsis is, which is why researchers undertook a study to assess the prevalence, common underlying causes, and preventability of sepsis.

Friday, February 15, 2019

‘Literally rotted to death’: Ex-nursing home workers face neglect charges in 2 deaths

‘Literally rotted to death’: Ex-nursing home workers face neglect charges in 2 deaths

COLUMBUS, OH (WBNS/CNN) - Seven former nursing home nurses face charges in the death of two patients in 2017.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said the charges stem from patient neglect and inadequate care at Whetstone Gardens and Care Center he called “gut-wrenching."
They were indicted by a grand jury and face 34 charges overall, including manslaughter and gross patient neglect.
It was so bad, one man literally rotted to death.

Medicare would provide national coverage for CAR-T cancer therapies under new proposal

Medicare would provide national coverage for CAR-T cancer therapies under new proposal

WASHINGTON — Under a new proposal, the Medicare program would pay for expensive new cancer therapies known as CAR-T for patients across the country.

Advocates for physician assisted suicide dismiss opposition from Catholic Church

Advocates for physician assisted suicide dismiss opposition from Catholic Church

ALBANY — With New York having strengthened and expanded abortion rights and set to pass the Child Victims Act over Church objections, the state Catholic Conference headed by Timothy Cardinal Dolan is now prioritizing blocking a bill to legalize physician assisted suicide.

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

Disabled people like me fear legal assisted suicide suggests that some lives are less worth living

Disabled people like me fear legal assisted suicide suggests that some lives are less worth living

Disabled people look to doctors to help us live, not to help us die.
By Baroness Jane Campbell, a  founding member of the disability rights group, Not Dead Yet UK.

Many terminally ill and disabled people oppose assisted suicide.

Not a single organisation of, or for, disabled people, or one representing people with long term health conditions has campaigned for assisted suicide to be legalised.

Dr Will Johnston: It has become too easy to end patients' lives.

Dr Will Johnston: It has become too easy to end patients' lives.

As an ordinary Canadian family physician, I have seen a different side of the new ‘Medical Aid in Dying’ regime Dr. Sandy Buchman glowingly describes. The scheme was sold to us and the public as a rare matter of assisting the suicide of extreme terminal illness cases. By a year into it, hundreds (now thousands) had died and over 99% of the deaths were not by self-administration, but intravenously by doctors and nurses. The Canadian euthanasia death rate has continued to escalate, while funding for palliative care services has fallen in several provinces. 

Saturday, February 9, 2019

Admitted to Hospice and Palliative Care without Consent-HALO Newsletter

Admitted to Hospice and Palliative Care without Consent

Please click on the above link for more of the entire Article and more News.
By Dorothy Knightly
My husband, William F. Knightly Jr., died on April 26, 2017, from untreated sepsis, which he contracted at a New Hampshire hospital while under the “care” of a hospice and palliative care specialist.
In early February 2017, my husband had lung and lymph node biopsies with negative results. The oncologist said they didn’t know if he had kidney cancer and wouldn’t know unless they took out his kidney. William refused. If there was nothing wrong with it, he said, they would take it out for nothing. The oncologist wasn’t happy. His whole demeanor changed toward my husband and me.
After having the biopsies, William started getting weak. The oncologist prescribed Cipro (an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections). He had all the side effects listed for Cipro, but the doctor overlooked them and just assumed that my husband was dying of lung cancer.



Hospitalized by deception
We refused when the doctor asked if William wanted to be admitted to hospice care. My husband told the doctor that he didn’t want to die; he wanted treatment. The doctor responded that my husband would be admitted to the hospital for a short time to get his strength back and his pain controlled.
On March 16, 2017, my husband walked into the hospital on his own two feet and was admitted, at which time he was given Dilaudid (a pain-control medication) intravenously. The next day, William told me that a man visited him. We weren’t told this man was a hospice and palliative care (HPC) physician who was there to handle William’s pain medication. The doctor started him on 15 milligrams of MS Contin (extended-release morphine) twice a day and 15 milligrams of morphine every four hours if needed for breakthrough pain. Without his knowledge or consent, William had been admitted to hospice.


Wednesday, February 6, 2019

There is no 'healthcare' involved in physician-assisted suicide

There is no 'healthcare' involved in physician-assisted suicide

Even in our modern age of miraculous scientific advancements, some medical professionals are working to drag us back to the dark ages. In a recent collaborative opinion article, Doctors Josh Bloom and Henry Miller used the horrors of Alzheimer’s disease as the case in point why we should liberalize even more the regulation of physician-assisted suicide.
These doctors do themselves, and the rest of the medical community, a grave disservice.

Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Always Care, Never Kill: How Physician-Assisted Suicide Endangers the Weak, Corrupts Medicine, Compromises the Family, and Violates Human Dignity and Equality

Always Care, Never Kill: How Physician-

Assisted Suicide Endangers the Weak, 

Corrupts Medicine, Compromises the Family,

 and Violates Human Dignity and Equality

Allowing physician-assisted suicide would be a grave mistake for four reasons. First, it would endanger the weak and vulnerable. Second, it would corrupt the practice of medicine and the doctor–patient relationship. Third, it would compromise the family and intergenerational commitments. And fourth, it would betray human dignity and equality before the law.

Doctors Induce Twenty-Five Percent of Dutch Deaths-(How may Murdered in the U.S. ILLEGALLY???)

Doctors Induce Twenty-Five Percent of Dutch Deaths

(How may Murdered in the U.S. ILLEGALLY???)
An exposé on Dutch euthanasia published in The Guardian discloses that around twenty-five percent of Dutch deaths are induced/caused by doctors.
These are not all lethal-injection euthanasia deaths. As I have written here before, many more people are killed in the Netherlands by “terminal sedation”–a slow motion euthanasia wherein patients not in the active stage of dying are put into artificial comas and denied all sustenance until they dehydrate to death–than die by lethal jabs. (Terminal sedation should never be confused with the proper practice of “palliative sedation,” which eases a dying patient’s symptoms while not intentionally causing death.)

Saturday, February 2, 2019

2013 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title X - PUBLIC HEALTH Chapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS Section 137-J:23 - Penalty.

2013 New Hampshire Revised StatutesTitle X - PUBLIC HEALTHChapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONSSection 137-J:23 - Penalty.

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 137-J:23 (2013)

    137-J:23 Penalty. – A person who knowingly and falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits, or knowingly and falsely causes to be made, altered, forged, or counterfeited, or procures, aids or counsels the making, altering, forging, or counterfeiting, of an advance directive or revocation of same with the intent to injure or defraud a person shall be guilty of a class B felony, notwithstanding any provisions in title LXII.
Source. 2006, 302:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007.

Penalty? In NH? Next Joke!


2013 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title X - PUBLIC HEALTH Chapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS Section 137-J:33 - Do Not Resuscitate Identification.

2013 New Hampshire Revised StatutesTitle X - PUBLIC HEALTHChapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONSSection 137-J:33 - Do Not Resuscitate Identification.

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 137-J:33 (2013)

    137-J:33 Do Not Resuscitate Identification. – Do not resuscitate identification as set forth in this chapter may consist of either a medical condition bracelet or necklace with the inscription of the person's name, date of birth in numerical form and "NH Do Not Resuscitate'' or "NH DNR'' on it. Such identification shall be issued only upon presentation of a properly executed do not resuscitate order form as set forth in RSA 137-J:26, a medical orders form in which a physician or advanced practice registered nurse has documented a do not resuscitate order, or a do not resuscitate order properly executed in accordance with a health care facility' s written policy and procedure.
Source. 2006, 302:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007. 2009, 54:5, eff. July 21, 2009.

2013 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title X - PUBLIC HEALTH Chapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS Section 137-J:26 - Issuance of a Do Not Resuscitate Order; Order to be Written by the Attending Physician or APRN.

2013 New Hampshire Revised StatutesTitle X - PUBLIC HEALTHChapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONSSection 137-J:26 - Issuance of a Do Not Resuscitate Order; Order to be Written by the Attending Physician or APRN.

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 137-J:26 (2013)

    137-J:26 Issuance of a Do Not Resuscitate Order; Order to be Written by the Attending Physician or APRN. – 
    I. An attending physician or APRN may issue a do not resuscitate order for a person if the person, or the person's agent, has consented to the order. A do not resuscitate order shall be issued in writing in the form as described in this section for a person not present or residing in a health care facility. For persons present in health care facilities, a do not resuscitate order shall be issued in accordance with the policies and procedures of the health care facility and in accordance with the provisions of this chapter. 
    II. A person may request that his or her attending physician or APRN issue a do not resuscitate order for the person. 
    III. An agent may consent to a do not resuscitate order for a person who lacks the capacity to make health care decisions if the advance directive signed by the principal grants such authority. A do not resuscitate order written by the attending physician or APRN for such a person with the consent of the agent is valid and shall be respected by health care providers and residential care providers. 
    IV. If an agent is not reasonably available and the facility has made diligent efforts to contact the agent without success, or the agent is not legally capable of making a decision regarding a do not resuscitate order, an attending physician or APRN may issue a do not resuscitate order for a person who lacks capacity to make health care decisions, who is near death, and who is admitted to a health care facility if a second physician who has personally examined the person concurs in the opinion of the attending physician or APRN that the provision of cardiopulmonary resuscitation would be contrary to accepted medical standards and would cause unnecessary harm to the person. 
    V. For persons not present or residing in a health care facility, the do not resuscitate order shall be noted on a medical orders form or in substantially the following form on a card suitable for carrying on the person:
As attending physician or APRN of __________ and as a licensed physician or advanced practice registered nurse, I order that this person SHALL NOT BE RESUSCITATED in the event of cardiac or respiratory arrest.
This order has been discussed with __________ (or, if applicable, with his/ her agent,) __________, who has given consent as evidenced by his/her signature below.
Attending physician or APRN Name
Attending physician or APRN Signature
Address
Person Signature
Address
Agent Signature (if applicable)
_________________________
Address ____________________

    VI. For persons residing in a health care facility, the do not resuscitate order shall be reflected in at least one of the following forms: 
       (a) Forms required by the policies and procedures of the health care facility in compliance with this chapter; 
       (b) The do not resuscitate card as set forth in paragraph V; or 
       (c) The medical orders form in compliance with this chapter.
Source. 2006, 302:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007. 2009, 54:4, 5, eff. July 21, 2009.

2013 New Hampshire Revised Statutes Title X - PUBLIC HEALTH Chapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS Section 137-J:10 - Withholding or Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment.

2013 New Hampshire Revised StatutesTitle X - PUBLIC HEALTHChapter 137-J - WRITTEN DIRECTIVES FOR MEDICAL DECISION MAKING FOR ADULTS WITHOUT CAPACITY TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONSSection 137-J:10 - Withholding or Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment.

Universal Citation: NH Rev Stat § 137-J:10 (2013)

    137-J:10 Withholding or Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment. – 
    I. In the event a health care decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment, including medically administered nutrition and hydration, is to be made by an agent, and the principal has not executed the "living will'' of the advance directive, the following additional conditions shall apply: 
       (a) The principal's attending physician or APRN shall certify in writing that the principal lacks the capacity to make health care decisions. 
       (b) Two physicians or a physician and an APRN shall certify in writing that the principal is near death or is permanently unconscious. 
       (c) Notwithstanding the capacity of an agent to act, the agent shall make a good faith effort to explore all avenues reasonably available to discern the desires of the principal including, but not limited to, the principal's advance directive, the principal's written or spoken expressions of wishes, and the principal's known religious or moral beliefs. 
    II. Notwithstanding paragraph I, medically administered nutrition and hydration and life-sustaining treatment shall not be withdrawn or withheld under an advance directive unless: 
       (a) There is a clear expression of such intent in the directive; 
       (b) The principal objects pursuant to RSA 137-J:5, IV; or 
       (c) Such treatment would have the unintended consequence of hastening death or causing irreparable harm as certified by an attending physician and a physician knowledgeable about the patient's condition. 
    III. The withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall at no time be construed as a suicide or murder for any legal purpose. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to constitute, condone, authorize, or approve suicide, assisted suicide, mercy killing, or euthanasia, or permit any affirmative or deliberate act or omission to end one's own life or to end the life of another other than either to permit the natural process of dying of a patient near death or the removal of life-sustaining treatment from a patient in a permanently unconscious condition as provided in this chapter. The withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, however, shall not relieve any individual of responsibility for any criminal acts that may have caused the principal's condition. 
    IV. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to condone, authorize, or approve: 
       (a) The consent to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment from a pregnant principal, unless, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as certified on the principal's medical record by the attending physician or APRN and an obstetrician who has examined the principal, such treatment or procedures will not maintain the principal in such a way as to permit the continuing development and live birth of the fetus or will be physically harmful to the principal or prolong severe pain which cannot be alleviated by medication. 
       (b) The withholding or withdrawing of medically administered nutrition and hydration or life-sustaining treatment from a mentally incompetent or developmentally disabled person, unless such person has a validly executed advance directive or such action is authorized by an existing guardianship or other court order, or, in the absence of such directive, authorization, or order, such action is taken in accordance with the standard protocol of a health care facility licensed under RSA 151 as applicable to its general patient population. 
    V. Nothing in this chapter shall impair or supersede any other legal right or responsibility which any person may have to effect life-sustaining treatment in any lawful manner; provided, that this paragraph shall not be construed to authorize any violation of RSA 137-J:7, II or III. 
    VI. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to revoke or adversely affect the privileges or immunities of health care providers or residential care providers and others to provide treatment to persons in need thereof in an emergency, as provided for under New Hampshire law. 
    VII. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create a presumption that in the absence of an advance directive, a person wants life-sustaining treatment to be either taken or withdrawn. This chapter shall also not be construed to supplant any existing rights and responsibilities under the law of this state governing the conduct of physicians or APRNs in consultation with patients or their families or legal guardians in the absence of an advance directive.
Source. 2006, 302:2, eff. Jan. 1, 2007. 2009, 54:4, eff. July 21, 2009. 2012, 251:1, eff. Jan. 1, 2013.

Friday, February 1, 2019

Vulnerabilities in the Medicare Hospice Program Affect Quality Care and Program Integrity: An OIG Portfolio

Vulnerabilities in the Medicare Hospice Program Affect Quality Care and Program Integrity: An OIG Portfolio 

Vulnerabilities in the Medicare Hospice Program Affect Quality Care and Program Integrity
What OIG Found Hospice care can provide great comfort to beneficiaries, families, and caregivers at the end of a beneficiary’s life. Use of hospice care has grown steadily over the past decade, with Medicare paying $16.7 billion for this care in 2016. 
However, OIG has identified vulnerabilities in the program. OIG found that hospices do not always provide needed services to beneficiaries and sometimes provide poor quality care. In some cases, hospices were not able to manage effectively symptoms or medications, leaving beneficiaries in unnecessary pain for many days.