Originally Published January 19, 2006

Do you know how many veterans die each day? More than 1800 - about a quarter of all deaths in America .  About 85% of veterans do not receive care through the VA health system: and most die in the community, with only about 4% of them dying in VA facilities. Many of these veterans could benefit from hospice or palliative care. 

Can veterans access hospice and/or palliative care? Hospice care is part of the basic eligibility package for veterans enrolled in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). (See Title 38 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 17.38(a) (1) (xi) (A).  If hospice care is appropriate for enrolled veterans, VA Medical Centers either provide hospice care directly or purchase it from community hospices.  

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 Palliative 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.