MedPAC Meeting Focuses on Growth in the Medicare Hospice Benefit

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) meeting on March 6 focused on “ Hospice Costs and Payments.” It was noted that the Medicare hospice benefit (MHB) provides an alternative to intensive end-of-life curative treatment, and that hospice spending reached $10 billion in 2007 but the current payment system embodies conflicting incentives. MedPAC’s summary of researchon…