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.