What does the future hold for hospice in the present envirornment?

This has been a monumentalyear for Medicare Hospice Benefit (MHB) providers. Rapid growth in expenditures ($10 billion in 2007) and anticipated doubling of that figure in the next 10 years has drawn more attention, notably from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the Congress, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), and Office of Inspector General (OIG). In 2007, about 40 percent of Medicare decedents used hospice compared to about 27 percent in 2000. Between 2004 and 2005, spending on hospice increased by 20 percent as compared to about a nine percent increase for overall Medicare spending. MedPAC estimates that the number of patients receiving hospice care for more than six months has increased from 14 percent in 2000, to 21 percent in 2005. How has the government responded to this growth?