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Published on 12/01/1999 All articles from this issue

Local providers tout new state laws adding hospice care to health plans

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Special to the Town Crier

As hospices across the nation celebrated November as National Hospice Month, local hospice supporters said Californians have additional cause to celebrate.

Thanks to a legislative measure signed recently by Gov. Gray Davis, any insured individual faced with a terminal illness will be eligible to receive hospice care as a plan benefit.

Assembly Bill 892, authored by Assemblywoman Elaine Alquist and sponsored by the California Hospice and Palliative Care Association, requires health care service plans to include hospice care in their list of basic health services. The legislation is effective Jan. 1, 2002.

Coupled with recent pain legislation and an earlier bill extending services in care facilities for the elderly, residents can expect improved access to services and better care.

"AB 892 is a major victory for Californians," said Tim Bowen, a member of the state hospice board and director of MidPeninsula Pathways Hospice, the largest hospice provider in Northern California. "The legislation will result in better services for patients and families and a savings to health plans."

A study conducted by the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center and Research Institute showed a savings of 40 percent for patients on the hospice program. The cost differential between hospital-hospice treatment and nonhospice treatment was significant. Total cost during the last six months of life for nonhospice patients was $50,152, while total hospital charges plus hospice charges for hospice patients averaged $35,625, a savings of $14,527.

Davis also signed a bill that addresses pain management, requiring health facilities to consider pain as a vital sign that should be assessed when other vital signs are taken.

Locally, MidPeninsula Hospice Services has offices in Mountain View. For more information, call 1-888-755-7855.