Where the heck are those death panels when you need them?

It would be nice if they said why people dropped out of hospice care. Did they think they were getting better or could no longer afford it?

Where are the conservatives attacking the sound science of this study? What about those death panels that might talk to people about the options of palliative care at the end of their life that has been shown to benefit the patient in terms of mental outlook?

Since I work in the industry I have a little insight. This article fails to acknowledge that patients have control over this issue. Patients once on hospice do not have to stay on hospice. They can revoke and return to full blown treatment as they wish. They do not have to get better or even think they'll get better. They can just want aggressive treatment and they get it. Families are a big part as they don't want grandpa or grandma to die without trying everything. It is very selfish. But it is what it is. As hospices are trolling for patients and pushing doctors and hospital support staff to admit patients to hospice the truth is some patients are not ready for hospice. Some of this returning to treatment is about hospices being overly aggressive looking for admissions. In other words there is more to this issue than this article implies.

How about telling us why these people left the hospice program?  That's a key piece of information missing from this article.

Patients are being forced out of hospice by government regs.

In a misguided effort to cut costs, if a terminally ill patient does not manage to die during the time predicted by the supervising physician, too bad. The funding stops; the patient must leave the program.

It's not easy for a family to have a member die at home, even with assistance. It is hard work for the family. It is emotionally draining. The combination can lead to bitter disputes about who is or isn't doing their part. People with the best intentions can make poor decisions sometimes under those circumstances.

It can't just be about the financial cost. The article also pointed out that the emotional outcome is also better for those families who continued hospice care, which matches my own experience.