Medicare Hospice Care: Modifications to Payment Methodology May Be Warranted

October 2004 Medicare Hospice Care: Modifications to Payment Methodology May Be Warranted Using Medicare cost reports from freestanding hospices, GAO determined that the per diem payment rate for all hospice care was about 8 percent higher than the estimated average per diem cost of providing care in 2000, and over 10 percent higher in 2001. However, the relationship between payment rates and costs varied across the payment categories and types of hospices. For all hospice care provided in the home, which accounted for about 97 percent of care in 2001, GAO estimates that the per diem payment rate was almost . . .