Abstract
Thepurposeofthis study is to examinethe complete costs of hospice care for a non-Medicare age population. The hospice programs selected were part of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Massachusetts hospice demonstrationproject. The direct costs of hospice and conventional care for the terminally ill were assessed, by month, forthe last six months oflife. Thestudy format indicates the effects hospice stay, as an independent variable, had on comparative costs between two population samples. Results showed that hospice care was associated with significant savings in the lastmonth of life, but was somewhat more costly in months prior to this period. Finally, savings attributed to the last month of life were significantly large to offset losses in the prior months.
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