Abstract

The Medicare hospice program is intended to provide palliative care to terminal patients, but
patients with long stays in hospice are highly profitable, motivating concerns about overuse
among the Alzheimer’s and Dementia (ADRD) population in the rapidly growing for-profit
sector. We provide the first causal estimates of the effect of for-profit hospice on patient spending
using the entry of for-profit hospices over twenty years. We find hospice has saved money for
Medicare by offsetting other expensive care among ADRD patients. As a result, policies limiting
hospice use including revenue caps and anti-fraud lawsuits are distortionary and deter cost-saving
admissions.

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Link to full Article: https://tinyurl.com/43ffsufm