That Happened!

New York - With the $2.3 million budget shortage, state legislators met in Tallahassee to try and come up with a way to cover the shortage. This is happening just in time as those who live in Sumter and Lake counties in Florida, may lose their Hospice care that is optional.

A proposal to cut the benefit of the Hospice Medicaid program was put forth by the House Health Appropriations Committee. However, Hospice says that if this cut takes place it will force those who lose the benefit to find coverage else where that is more expensive, and most likely will cost the state more money to cover.

A study that was done on the possibility of the cut and the effects it may have has shown that it may actually rise the Florida counties burden of providing this care by using financially strained care programs and hospitals that participate in them. These programs and hospitals provide indigent care. Hospice has to find a way to cover their patients who use the program that is uncompensated with limited resources. Patients who cannot afford health insurance or who do not have it are able to utilize this program to help them with medical issues.

Hospice does not receive any of the money that the North and South Lake districts tax their residents to give to different area hospitals to help pay for the services provided, so they have to fully pay for the services that are given to patients who are terminally ill on their own, without any assistance.

Hospice has to take care of patients who are not able to pay as it is a requirement of the program. The study that was done was actually paid for by Hospice programs in Florida. If this proposal is passed by legislation then the Cornerstone Hospice would have to cut their budget by $3 million. This means that they would have to cut back drastically on their services that they currently provide and layoff workers that are currently employed.

Cornerstone Hospice has already been hit by a cut in the budget the last time the government took money from this program. They had to cut $2 million that time and laid off 17 workers because they had to close their program that provided its patients with music and massage therapy to help the patients who were terminally ill be more comfortable.

Many people in our country today depend on Hospice to help their terminally ill family members. To lose these benefits would be devastating to those who have no other way of making sure the patient is taken care of.