Lawmakers want to help hospices
Tulsa lawmakers want to help hospices

By Chris Casteel

Published: March 7, 2008

WASHINGTON — Two Tulsa lawmakers introduced legislation on Thursday to prevent the federal government from recouping money from hospices that were paid for patients who lived longer than expected.

Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. John Sullivan, both Republicans, said they are concerned that small hospices would be driven out of business if they're forced to return money that exceeded the amount Medicare pays annually for a patient's hospice care.

Inhofe introduced a bill in the Senate and Sullivan in the House that would prevent the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services from collecting hospice cap overpayments for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 fiscal years.

"Without a moratorium, these Oklahoma hospices, as well as hospices in numerous other states, will be unable to meet demands for repayment,” Inhofe said. "As a result, many small family- and community-owned hospices would be forced to close and discharge significant numbers of terminally ill patients, possibly into more expensive care.”

Medicare pays for hospice care if two doctors have certified that a patient has less than six months to live; the patients can be recertified every two months after that. Patients must agree not to seek Medicare benefits for medical care for their disease. Medicare caps payments at about $21,000 per year per patient.

Oklahoma hospices owe an estimated $25 million for 2005, but not all states have a serious problem with exceeding the cap.

An official at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services told The Oklahoman in December that the issue appears to be concentrated in a few states, including Oklahoma, although it's not clear why.

According to Inhofe's office, 41 percent of the hospices in Oklahoma received repayment letters in 2005.

Comments