|
All Medicare-eligible veterans,
whether or not they are enrolled in VHA, have access to hospice through
Medicare. Veterans not
eligible for Medicare may have hospice benefits through Medicaid or other
private insurance.
However, like 90% of all Americans,
most veterans simply do not know that these options for hospice care
exist. Sometimes even VA and
hospice providers do not know about all the options: community hospices
may know of the hospice units in VA facilities, and VA facilities may not
know about the service community hospices can offer.
Sometimes there is some confusion about payment and how to work
with each other. Many VA
Medical Centers have Pallative Care Consultation Teams.
Where
can veterans find hospice and/or
palliative care?
Go to the National Hospice and Palliative Organization’s website:
www.nhpco.org.
Click on “Find a Provider” which is towards the right hand side
of the page. From there, you
can be guided to hospice(s) in a specific state or zip code, or by its
name.
What
is a Hospice-Veteran Partnership (HVP)?
In November 2001, to improve end-of-life care for veterans, the
Department of Veterans Affairs established the VA Hospice and Palliative
Care Initiative (VAHPC). One
of the programs launched by the VAHPC is the National Hospice Veteran
Partnership (HVP) Program, which is working with the National Hospice and
Palliative Care Organization, and other end-of-life care advocates to
develop a national network of HVPs.
HVPs are coalitions of community
hospices, VA providers, and organizations such as end-of-life care
community coalitions, and others working together to ensure that excellent
care at the end of life is available for our nation’s veterans and
support is available for their families.
These partnerships can be community-based or statewide and may
function independently or within existing structure.
Some HVPs are hosted by state hospice organizations or VA Medical
Centers, while others are coordinated by community end-of-life care
coalitions.
For further information and assistance, please contact Don Cohick,
Lycoming
County
VA
Coordinator at dcohick@lyco.org
or 570-327-2365.
-Return
to Articles Page-
© 2000-2005
Marshall & Associates www.paelderlaw.com
|
