When a loved one is facing a serious illness, the terminology used by healthcare providers can be confusing. Two terms that often get grouped together are Palliative (or Supportive) Care and Hospice Care. While both focus on comfort and quality of life, they serve different purposes at different stages of a health journey.
Understanding these distinctions is vital for making informed decisions about the care you or your loved ones receive.
1. The Goal of Care: Curative vs. Comfort
The biggest difference lies in the intent of the care:
- Palliative-Supportive Care: The intent of care is comfort, which allows for continued curative treatments. You can receive palliative care while simultaneously seeking a cure or undergoing aggressive treatments (like chemotherapy or dialysis). The goal is to manage symptoms and improve daily life during the “battle.”
- Hospice Care: The focus shifts entirely to comfort and quality of life when curative treatments are no longer being pursued or are no longer effective. The goal is to support the patients’ end-of-life wishes, and ensure patients are free of pain and distress.
2. Eligibility and Timing
When can you start these services?
- Palliative Care: This can begin at the time of diagnosis. There is no specific time limit on how long a patient can receive palliative care, as long as they require help managing the side effects of their illness.
- Hospice Care: This is for those with a terminal prognosis (often defined as a life expectancy of six months or less).
3. Duration of Care
The “rules” for staying in these programs vary based on medical necessity:
- Palliative Care: Duration of care is determined by the continued need for skilled services.
- Hospice Care: Time under care is determined by the progression of the disease. A person can continue on hospice longer than six months as long as he or she continues to show signs of decline.
4. Insurance and Costs
Both services are widely covered:
- Palliative Care: Generally covered by Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and most private insurances. However, patients may still be responsible for copays or co-insurances depending on their specific plan.
- Hospice Care: Covered by Medicare (Part A), which pays for the care team, the equipment, supplies and medicines related to the hospice diagnosis.
5. Support Around the Clock: After-Hours Availability
A major concern for families is what happens when a crisis occurs at 2:00 a.m. on a Saturday. The level of “on-call” support is a key difference between these two types of care:
- Palliative Care: Support is generally available during regular business hours only. If an urgent issue arises overnight, you would typically follow your doctor’s standard after-hours instructions or go to the Emergency Room.
- Hospice Care: One of the primary benefits of hospice is 24/7 on-call support. Hospice agencies are required to have a registered nurse available by phone at all times. If a symptom (like pain or shortness of breath) becomes unmanageable in the middle of the night, you call the hospice line directly. They can provide guidance over the phone or, if necessary, send a nurse to your home to stabilize the situation, often preventing an unnecessary and stressful trip to the hospital.
6. Prescription Coverage: Who Picks Up the Tab?
Managing symptoms like pain, nausea, or anxiety usually requires various medications. How you pay for these depends on your care model:
- Palliative-Supportive Care: Since you are still in a “traditional” care model, your medications are covered by your Medicare Part D plan (or private prescription insurance). This means you are responsible for your usual monthly premiums, deductibles, and tiered copays. You will continue to use your local retail pharmacy or mail-order service.
- Hospice Care: Once you elect the hospice benefit, the hospice agency becomes the “insurance company” for any medication related to your terminal diagnosis. Medications are delivered directly to your home, eliminating the need for caregivers to make trips to the pharmacy.
Making the Choice
Choosing between Palliative or Supportive Care and Hospice Care is about matching the care to the patient’s current needs. Call us, at either number below, and we can talk through the details of your specific situation:
Arcy Supportive Care, 469-348-0670 Arcy Hospice, 469-293-1515
My name is Jimmie Stapleton. I am the founder and CEO of Arcy Healthcare. Arcy Healthcare includes Arcy Hospice, Arcy Supportive Care, Arcy Home Health and Arcy at Home.
Arcy Hospice was opened in 2007 to provide care and support for individuals and families facing a life limiting illness. It was established after my wife Ellen, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer, had completed her chemo and radiation therapies. At that time, things were looking positive, and we wanted to do something for our community that had been so supportive of our family during her treatments. Unfortunately, the cancer returned a few years later, and she subsequently passed away under our care in 2010.
In the years that followed, I began to see the need to provide the same level of excellent care to patients across the continuum of care. Therefore, we have added a home health division (Arcy Home Health), a palliative care division (Arcy Supportive Care), and two home care divisions, (Arcy at Home and Living Well Senior Care). With the addition of these divisions, we can meet most of the post-acute care needs for you and your family in your home.
I started Arcy Hospice with my wife as my inspiration to provide exceptional care and support in the patient’s home, where they are surrounded by family and where they feel most comfortable. I’m proud to say our dedicated staff provides some of the most respected in-home care in Dallas-Fort Worth, treating every patient like a member of our own family.
Please let us know if we can enrich the quality of life for you or a loved one.
Sincerely,
Jimmie Stapleton – Founder and CEO
Arcy Healthcare
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