Access to State-of-the-Art Hospice Care for Rural and Minority Hospice Users
This project will develop and map hospice care service areas that will allow for the measurement of access to hospice care for rural and minority Medicare beneficiaries who die of cancer, and recommend options for increasing access to hospice care in underserved rural areas. This project will incorporate the analysis of home health service areas conducted by Dr. Virnig. This analysis will use the Medicare 100% hospice and 100% denominator files for 1999, 2000, and 2001. Using Medicare cost report data, the project will also evaluate the effect of hospice size, ownership and rural/urban location on amount of Medicare payments allocated to pharmacy costs, use of radiation or chemotherapy; estimate the proportion of the population served by freestanding hospices providing limited availability to such treatments; and recommend options for improving access to these symptom management options for hospice patients with cancer. Final products will include a map of hospice service areas along with an analysis of both home health and hospice service areas.
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