Aetna To Launch New Health Plan Covering Hospice Care

Health insurer Aetna on Thursday plans to announce the launch of a pilot program to extend hospice care coverage to members who receive "aggressive -- and expensive -- treatments that aim to cure" their diseases, the Wall Street Journal reports. Aetna officials said that they expect between six and 12 large companies to participate in the pilot program, which will begin by next January and last about one year. The program will allow physicians to refer members with a life expectancy of one year, rather than the current six months, to hospices. In addition, the program will allow members to receive "curative" treatments, which Aetna will cover at the standard rate for medical costs, in addition to nursing, spiritual counseling and other hospice services, for which Aetna often covers 100% of the cost. Aetna also will cover bereavement counseling for family members and respite care for caregivers under the program. The program marks "the latest in a mounting effort" by hospices, Medicare and health insurers to reduce restrictions on access to hospice care, which in most cases requires patients to "sign a paper that states that they understand that they likely have less than six months to live and that they are choosing to halt curative measures," the Journal reports. According to the Journal, hospice care, which focuses on pain treatment and emotional support for terminally ill patients, can reduce costs for health insurers; hospice care costs an average of $120 per day per patient, compared with an average of $7,353 per day per patient for hospital care (Petersen, Wall Street Journal, 4/29).