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Course Sample:
About the authors:
Mary M. Michal, JD, is a member of the law firm Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren in Milwaukee where she is a member of the State Bar of Wisconsin's Health Law Committee. Ms. Michal is past president of Hospice Organization of Wisconsin, a past commissioner of the National Continuing Care Accreditation Commission, and past president of the national Hospice Manager's Monograph.
Amy Lynn Jerdee, JD is an associate in the Health Care Department of the law firm Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren. Ms. Jerdee has her BSN and practiced in cardiac surgical care nursing before obtaining her law degree. Her practice includes regulatory and transactional health law issues.
Introduction
Hospices offer palliative and supportive care to the terminally ill, focusing on managing pain and other symptoms instead of seeking curative treatment for an illness. Recently, the concept of palliative care has expanded beyond the boundaries of hospice care to include care and services provided to patients suffering from progressive, incurable illnesses, who may or may not be eligible for hospice care, depending on whether their life expectancy is greater than six months. Palliative care focuses on symptom control and supportive care early in a patient's illness and is designed to both improve the quality of life for patients while they fight their disease and potentially increase life expectancy.
Palliative care includes consultation, activities, and services offered to patients located in a variety of settings, including acute care units, inpatient or outpatient clinics, nursing homes, or patient homes. In addition to providing care in a variety of settings, palliative care may be separately incorporated into the services offered by medical practices and physician corporations. Palliative care services may also be offered as professional medical educational opportunities, such as fellowships or residencies focusing on hospice and/or palliative care services.
One of the major difficulties with offering palliative care services independent of a hospice is identifying and accessing funding. Palliative care providers typically attempt to fund services through existing reimbursement streams for hospice, home care, hospital, and physician services. Alternatively, palliative care providers may supplement lacking reimbursement with grants, donations, hospital subsidies and other diverse funding sources. Financing issues have significantly contributed to the struggle to offer palliative care services in the United States. However, as people begin to understand palliative care and its benefits, reimbursement may become less problematic.
The Anti-Kickback Statute
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