Economy and General Discussion

My dad has alzheimer's.  He qualified for Hospice care several years ago and has been under the care of odyssey hospice since 2004.  Hospice is a service aimed at comfort, mainly for the last 6 months.  My dad is a tough, sweet guy, so he's chosen to keep hanging on  ;-)        There are clients who have had this care for 5-6 years, in some cases, where the health decline is steady but serious.

Odyssey was sued in a whistleblowing case a couple of years ago for giving services to people who didnt qualify and they had to pay the government millions of dollars     http://hospiceblog.blogspot.com/2006/08/is-odyssey-hospice-tip-of-iceberg.html

I just recently got notice that my dad no longer qualiifies for hospice.  It is ironic b/c the guy is very much bedridden now and he is literally wasting away as the disease progresses.  However they consider his condition "stable". They have a new feature to call and contest it. I did, and the person was very sympathetic, but my dad was denied services.  I then got a three page letter about the denial of services.  This was from the (new?) service firm Lumetra.  In addition, if I wanted to further appeal it, I could have done so by contacting another company, First Coast Service Options (QIC Expedited Reconsiderations) by NOON the following day after being turned down.

I contacted another hospice provider who hasn't been sued by the government for fraud and they did an initial evaluation of my father and will return in a month to chart any changes.  I fully expect my dad to requalify for hospice.  Hospice provides a hoyer lift, hospital bed, oxygen, wheelchair and specialized bathing equipment. A specialist in bathing attends to his skin care to prevent terrible bed sores and leisions.   In addition, when my dad went onto hospice, I was advised to drop his supplemental insurance b/c he would no longer be going to the hospital, getting treatment for illness to "save his life" etc...  Now if something comes up, a hospice nurse will not be swinging by to make him comfortable, he will have to be taken to the ER.  I've got to get him back onto hospice.  He cannot tolerate trips to the ER.

I just wanted to give the heads up in case anyone else is involved with Hospice or will be considering Hospice.  I think the government might just be shifting the burden of end of life care back onto the families, despite past promises.    ~julie