Family members of long-term care (LTC) residents at the end of life often feel unprepared for the death of a loved one. Family unpreparedness can lead to increased health costs and an increased risk of poor health outcomes such as complicated or prolonged grief, mood disturbances, sleep disorders, and poor quality of life. The purpose […]

A new study published in the Journal of American Medical Directors Association finds that for-profit nursing homes are increasingly offering their most vulnerable residents high-cost therapy at the end of life rather than hospice care. If someone you love is terminally ill in a nursing home, you may want to speak with the nursing home about different […]

The federal government says hospice fraud costs taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. An Action News Jax Investigation has uncovered hospices accused of fraud are only getting a slap on the wrist. “My signature was on paperwork that I didn’t sign,” said Jacksonville hospice whistleblower Dr. John Simons. That was one of the first red flags […]

Death has always been lucrative enterprise, whether it involves mahogany caskets or teams of estate and tax lawyers. But hospice, the business of caring for those who are nearing death, has become a booming multibillion-dollar industry that is attracting more and more for-profit companies, including one of the nation’s major insurers. That insurer, Humana, is […]

It might seem odd to talk about “innovations in dying,” but in recent decades the hospice movement has become an important new pathway for the most difficult phase of life. As American health care has become ever more high-tech and expensive, the hospice model of home-based care for terminally ill patients has enabled millions of […]