The Missouri Hospice Medicaid Project

Missouri Hospice Association Completes Ground-Breaking Study

Affirms Need for Hospice in State Medicaid Programs

Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care Association (MHPCA) recently released a study that affirms the cost benefits of maintaining hospice care in Medicaid programs across the nation.

The Missouri Hospice Medicaid Study clearly indicates that hospice actually reduces spending for Medicaid beneficiaries as well as reduces total costs to Medicaid. Those dying while under the care of hospice had total Medicaid costs that were 45% lower than that of patients who died in the hospital. Hospice users spent a total of $126,000 whereas those dying in a hospital
spent $284,000, respectively.

“This study sheds light on the importance of maintaining hospice as part of every state’s Medicaid benefit package, said Jane Moore, CEO of the Missouri Hospice & Palliative Care Association. “It comes at a time when baby boomers, a large percentage of our country’s population, are making end of life decisions. It’s important that they have all the facts.”

The analysis, completed in January, was overseen by Dr. Donald H. Taylor, Jr., Associate Professor of Public Policy, Duke University and Dr. Cordt T. Kassner, Principal, Hospice Analytics, and included all Medicaid recipients in Missouri who died under the care of a single Medicaid provider in 2011.

“This analysis further supports our belief that Missouri’s Medicaid program should look more closely at making hospice care available as early as possible,” said Moore. “Expanding such care to a broader group of Medicaid patients who are approaching death could both reduce the cost to Medicaid, as well as improve quality of life for patients.”

The Missouri Hospice Medicaid Study was completed, in part, by funding from The Missouri Foundation for Health and was initiated to explore the potential cost savings of hospice services associated with end-of-life services within the Missouri Medicaid program.

MHPCA is a state-wide non-profit organization dedicated to supporting and strengthening coordinated care for terminally ill Missourians and their families through the advancement of hospice and palliative care. For more information visit them online at www.missourihospice.org.