Good move for Medicare …

Tuesday, June 24, 2008 | 2:07 a.m.

Medicare officials have updated the program’s regulations to ensure that terminally ill participants can decide what kind of hospice care they will receive at the end of their lives.

The new hospice rules imposed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reflect the first changes since 1983 and provide, for the first time, detailed guidance as to what rights terminally ill Medicare patients have.

The new regulations say patients who choose hospice care rather than treatments intended to cure an illness are entitled to fully participate as their care plan is being written. They are also allowed to choose their own doctors and receive effective pain control.

Also, patients’ needs are to be evaluated within two days of their opting for hospice care and updated assessments are to occur at least every 15 days.

Kerry Weems, Medicare and Medicaid Services’ acting administrator, told Reuters news service the care available for terminally ill patients “has changed markedly in the past 25 years,” and the federal program’s services need to reflect advances in medical and hospice care.

The decision to choose hospice care, which seeks to make patients comfortable as their lives end rather than trying to cure the illnesses that afflict them, is a difficult one for patients and their families. Wrangling with a Medicare system that does not recognize their options and needs is a hurdle these people should not have to face. We are glad federal Medicare officials have acknowledged this and have made the necessary changes to make patients’ last days more dignified.