Safeguards Must Be Strengthened To Protect Medicare Hospice Beneficiaries From Harm

This report describes specific instances of harm to hospice beneficiaries and identifies vulnerabilities in CMS's efforts to prevent and address harm. In past work, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) raised a number of concerns about the care provided to Medicare beneficiaries. As part of a recent portfolio, OIG found that hospices did not always provide needed services to beneficiaries and sometimes provided poor quality care. Hospice care can provide great comfort to beneficiaries, their families, and caregivers at the end of a beneficiary's life. Medicare hospice beneficiaries have the right to be free from abuse, neglect, and other harm. When hospices cause harm or fail to take action when harm is caused by others, beneficiaries are deprived of these basic rights. This report is the second in a two-part series addressing hospice quality of care. The companion report identifies risks posed to Medicare beneficiaries from hospice deficiencies.