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Medicare Covers Hospice Care

Published

12 years ago

May 17, 2014

Coping with terminal illness can be very difficult – for the patient as well as his or her loved ones.

That’s why I want to pass along some information about Medicare’s coverage of hospice care.

Hospice is a program of care and support for people who are terminally ill. The focus is on comfort, not on curing illness. Hospice is intended to help people who are terminally ill live comfortably.

If you qualify for Medicare’s hospice benefit, you’ll have a specially trained team and support staff to help you and your family deal with your illness.

You and your family members are the most important part of the team.

Your team may also include doctors, nurses, counselors, social workers, physical and occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, hospice aides, and homemakers.

The hospice team provides care for the whole person. That includes his or her physical, emotional, and social needs.

Hospice services are generally provided in the home and may include physical care, counseling, drugs, and medical equipment and supplies for the terminal illness plus any related conditions.

Your regular doctor or a nurse practitioner can also be part of your team, to supervise your care.

Who’s eligible for Medicare-covered hospice services? You have to meet several conditions.

For one, you must be eligible for Medicare Part A, which is hospital insurance.

Also, your doctor and the hospice medical director must certify that you’re terminally ill and have six months or less to live, if your illness runs its normal course.

You have to sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of other Medicare-covered benefits to treat your terminal illness. (Medicare will still pay for covered benefits for any health problems that aren’t related to your terminal illness.)

And you must get care from a Medicare-approved hospice program.

If you qualify, your doctor and the hospice team will work with you and your family to set up a care plan that meets your needs.

A hospice doctor and nurse will be on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week to give you and your family support and care when you need it.

Medicare’s hospice benefit allows you and your family to stay together in the comfort of your home unless you need care in an inpatient facility.

You have the right to stop hospice care at any time.

Medicare will pay for a one-time-only consultation with a hospice medical director or hospice doctor to discuss your care options and how to manage your pain and symptoms.

After that, Medicare covers doctor and nurse services; equipment such as wheelchairs or walkers; supplies such as bandages and catheters; drugs to control pain or other symptoms; hospice aide and homemaker services; physical and occupational therapy; and social worker services.

Medicare also covers dietary counseling; grief and loss counseling for you and your family; short-term inpatient care for pain and symptom management; and short-term respite care.

Respite care is designed to help the caregiver for a terminally person. Often a spouse or other family member becomes the caregiver, and at some point they may need a rest.

You can get respite care in a Medicare-approved hospice inpatient facility, hospital, or nursing home if your caregiver needs a rest.

You can stay up to five days each time. You can get respite care more than once, but it can only be provided on an occasional basis.

How much do you pay for hospice under Medicare?

There’s no deductible. You’ll pay no more than $5 for each prescription drug and similar products for pain relief and symptom control.

If you get inpatient respite care, you pay five percent of the Medicare-approved amount. For example, if Medicare pays $100 per day for inpatient respite care, you’ll pay $5 per day.

David Sayen is Medicare’s regional administrator for Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii, and the Pacific Territories

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Community

Four Candidates, Including Incumbent Barbara Lee, Qualify for Oakland Mayor’s Race

POST NEWS GROUP — Four candidates, including incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, filed their papers to run for office by last Friday’s deadline, and the City Clerk issued a list this week of those who are qualified to run.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

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View of downtown Oakland, California and City Hall. iStock photo.

By Post Staff

The four mayoral candidates who will appear on the Nov. 3 ballot are:

Brenda Grisham. A business owner in East Oakland and public safety advocate, Grisham led the successful recall campaign against Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price. As part of her platform, she pledges to work with local, state, and federal partners to secure stricter gun control measures and investments in community violence intervention programs.

Barbara Lee. A former congressional representative and state Assembly member, Lee was elected by voters in a special election last year for a two-year term. Now running for a four-year term, she points out that her administration achieved major successes in addressing some of the city’s major challenges, including balancing the city budget, dramatically reducing crime, and making significant inroads into homelessness and illegal dumping.

Mindy Pechenuk. An educator and activist, Pechenuk is a registered Republican and supporter of Lyndon LaRouche, who has been described by observers as a conspiracy theorist and cult leader. She ran unsuccessfully for mayor in last year’s special election and for the at-large council seat in 2024. She seeks to end Oakland’s police commission and MACRO and invest in more police while launching a new local war on drugs.

Julius Robinson. While little information is available so far about Robinson, he was quoted in a KTVU story about Thao’s recall, stating that people in Oakland want to come together as a community but lack infrastructure and leadership.

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Black History

Oakland Observes Black August with Block Parties, Film Showings, Workshops

POST NEWS GROUP — Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

Published

3 days ago

August 15, 2026

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George Jackson wrote two books: “Soledad Brother,” and “Blood in My Eye” before her was killed in an attempt to escape prison on Aug. 21, 1971.

By Jana Lang, Propel Youth Reporter

Study. Train. Fast. Fight.

These are the four tenets of Black August, a month dedicated to commemorating the sacrifices of political prisoners and Black revolutionaries in the struggle for Black liberation.

Observers are urged to study the history of the Black struggle for freedom, train their bodies for health and self-defense, fast to cleanse the mind, body, and spirit, and fight ongoing oppression alongside their communities and local political organizations.

Beginning in 1979 in San Quentin State Prison, the Black Guerrilla Family called for the remembrance of political prisoner George Jackson and his brother Jonathan Jackson who were assassinated in the early 1970s. George Jackson was considered a political prisoner in that it was the anti-Black justice system that led to his incarceration for armed robbery with a sentence of one year-to-life in 1960.

While in prison, George befriended fellow prisoner W.L. Nolen, who introduced him to the works of Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, Mao Zedong, and Frantz Fanon. This radicalization coupled with his experiences of violence while imprisoned led to him writing and publishing two books, “Soledad Brother” (1970), and “Blood in my Eye” (1972). In January of 1970, George and two other prisoners were charged with murdering a corrections officer at Soledad State Prison in Monterey County.

On Aug. 7, 1970, Jonathan Jackson burst into a Marin County courtroom armed with a shotgun to demand the freedom of the Soledad Brothers. He, along with the inmates he freed, was shot and killed while driving away. This involved one of the Black Panther Party’s most notable associates, Angela Davis, because the shotgun was registered in her name. She was later acquitted of charges of conspiracy, kidnapping, and murder in 1972.

On Aug. 21, 1971, George Jackson was assassinated by a corrections officer after attempting to escape and free other inmates. As a result, there were uprisings and protests within prisons all over the country that year, calling forth resistance against racial oppression and mass incarceration.

Since its outset, Black August has evolved across the country, taking many forms to honor this history and embody the four tenets.

In Oakland, the upcoming Black August Experience, hosted by Youth Alive! and the East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), is a free, family-friendly event celebrating the legacy of Black August. Activities include free food and drinks, a kids’ activity zone, interactive workshops, live cooking and boxing demonstrations, and more.

Happening on Aug. 21 from 4-8 p.m. at the EOBA Patio, Carolyn Flynn, director of administration at EOBA, said the event, in its second year, will be an opportunity to engage with people in person through food, shared space, and education.

“We do regular classes in education, and those are ongoing programs that we offer, but we wanted to have [an opportunity] for our neighbors to utilize this space.” Combined with Youth Alive’s work in community violence prevention and youth leadership, this event surely aims to bring the Oakland community together to capture what Black August means today.

Here are additional Black August events happening in Oakland:

Forum and Community Discussion hosted by the Oakland Liberation Center, 1499 Fruitvale Ave., Aug. 14, 7 p.m.

“George Jackson/San Quentin” Screening hosted by Nostalgic for Nothing Cinema at Moments Co-Op, 410 13th St., Aug. 16, doors at 6 p.m., show at 6:30 p.m. (Masks required and scent-free)

Commemorating the Struggle, Building the Altar for Liberation: Black August at Bandung Books, 2269 International Blvd., Aug. 23rd, 1-5 p.m.

Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS), will host “Black August: The Arc of Liberation” at Oakland City Hall on Sat. Aug. 29, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.