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Letter to the Editor - Forbes.com
August 25, 2004
To the Editor:
Re: Can We Afford To Die (Forbes.com, August 18, 2004). Although Matthew Herper's article on the personal and financial implications of dying validates much of what we know about the dying process, some of the statements in the article are mythical, incorrect and poorly substantiated.
It is simply untrue that, as is written, "Cancer patients under Medicare are entitled to months of hospice care, but they rarely get it." The fact is that care for those for whom cure is out of reach has been provided primarily by local hospice organizations that only started in the United States 30 years ago. There are now over 3,000 hospices, mostly local in nature, organized in thousands of communities, originally in response to the uncaring treatment of dying people in hospitals. Each year there are approximately 2,500,000 deaths in the United States, and last year over 880,000 elected to be served by hospice. That represents over 30% of those eligible for hospice care, and over 50% of cancer patients. This is a significant percentage that has increased every year since statistics were available. Somebody is doing something right.
Secondly, "We don't know how to care for dying patients over the long haul or how to pay for that care" is appallingly incorrect. The pain control techniques cited in the article were developed almost exclusively by hospice pain control experts, who for over 30 years have successfully combined compassionate care with effective pain control. Furthermore, hospice is cost efficient. Last year the Medicare Hospice Benefit cost taxpayers about $3 billion. But it also saved taxpayers one and one-half billion, because several studies have shown that hospice costs are about two-thirds the cost of aggressive care in the last six months of life.
Dr. Foley accurately noted that the subject is critical because we are all mortal. All the more reason to understand that hospitals and traditional home care are not the only options for the dying.
Jack Gordon
Chairman
Hospice Foundation of America
[Note: Mr. Gordon served as Chairman and CEO of HFA until his death in
2005.]
