Alleging that the hospice programs were ignored by state inspectors for nine years and were long overdue for certification, the report said that 46 percent of the hospices were cited for at least one health deficiency, such as missing or inadequate patient-care plans.
The report also added that the Medicare payments to hospices is overdue for inspection accounts for an average of 2.7 million each in 2004. Judi Lund Person of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, which has 3,100 member hospices, told AP, "We've been calling for more frequent surveys for some time." She also added that the state surveys would also make sure providers and staffs know what regulators are looking for.
The hospice surveys are carried out by the federal government in contracts with states that sets priorities like hospital surveys and complaints. Other priorities include complaints from citizens about hospices that eventually go through the federal government.
Daniel Levinson, inspector general of the Health and Human Services Department, in a prepared statement told AP, "Hospice facilities should be surveyed timely so that problems can be detected and addressed."
As a p art of its budget process, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services sets the frequency of hospice certification and in fiscal year 2005, the centers required hospice certification surveys every six years. This was carried out since 2000 until the agency changed the frequency requirement to every eight years in 2006.
Hospices render care, including pain management, to people with terminal illnesses. Most hospice workers visit a dying patient's home, with many staff members making regular home visits and being on call to families.
