Restoring trust in hospice begins with ending Medicare fraud

Hospice care is a beautiful service for individuals approaching the end of life, as well as a difficult decision. It provides Medicare beneficiaries and their families comfort and support during their most vulnerable moments, access to pain and medication management, and medical equipment to alleviate symptoms. In addition, it provides social worker support, spiritual support or chaplaincy, grief counseling, and respite care for caregivers.

While losing someone you love is excruciating, many families — including my own — feel a sense of relief by the comfort and improved quality of life that hospice offers. As a mother, nurse, and full-time caregiver for my own mom during her end-of-life journey, I am forever grateful for the providers who supported our family during our most difficult moments. 

So, when I hear instances of malicious hospice fraud, I am outraged — not just for the taxpayer who becomes the victim of waste, but ultimately for the individuals who could be deprived of this important care option because of the harmful actions of others. 

I take the integrity of the Medicare Hospice Benefit seriously, as do each of the care providers I’ve worked with throughout my career. As a community, we are working together and with leaders in Washington to strengthen program integrity so that fraudulent entities are held accountable without undermining Americans’ access to high-quality hospice services delivered by legitimate providers.

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