Before anything is ordered for the house, the first paper to read is the one you signed to start hospice. Federal rules require a written election statement for the Medicare hospice benefit. It is a short form, and it does a few specific jobs: it says the hospice is the provider the person has chosen, it names the physician in charge of the plan, it records that the person has a terminal illness, and it states what the person gives up in exchange for the hospice benefit. It also states that the arrangement can be revoked. Those are the lines to read slowly.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
This piece does not tell you what to decide. Keeping hospice, changing it or ending it belongs to the person, the family and the doctor. What the form does is say what each choice means on paper, so you can ask the right questions before the choice is made.
What to check on the election statement
Read the hospice name and address against the packet you were given. Check that the attending physician named is the doctor you expect. Read the paragraph about waiving Medicare payment for services related to the terminal illness, and make sure you can say in your own words which services the hospice provides and which you would have to arrange another way. Find the revocation paragraph and ask the hospice to explain, in plain language, what happens to care, equipment and visits if the person revokes. Ask who may sign on the person's behalf if the person cannot sign, and whether that signature needs to be on file anywhere else.
Write your questions in the margin and bring them to the next visit. A good hospice will answer them the same way each time, and if the answers change between visits, write that down too.
Hold the quotes and warranties up to the same light
The election statement is one paper. The rest of the folder is different: the quote for a bed or chair you plan to buy yourself, the warranty on any equipment you own, and the terms of any hired help. Each of these has its own rules. A quote is a price offer for a stated product and service, and it changes if the product changes. A warranty covers defects for a stated period, and it may not cover wear from ordinary use. A contract for hired help says what the company will do and what it will not, including how it ends.
When you compare them, look for the items the hospice does not supply, and check whether any private quote or contract touches the same task. Two papers promising the same thing, or one paper that leaves a gap, are the two things to catch early.
Keep the signed copies together
Keep the signed election statement, every quote you were given, and each warranty in one place the family can find at night. Write on the front of the folder which copy is current and who holds the original. You will need these when a question comes up on a weekend, and you will not want to search for them then.
The federal rule behind this form is listed on Sources, along with the other references this site uses.