The cost of caring for patients with HIV infection in hospice

This article explores the organizational barriers that have limited the number of persons with AIDS cared for by hospice programs throughout the United States. The financial implications of caring for persons with AIDS are discussed and data from a survey of 15 hospice providers is presented. Examples of creative and cooperative coalitions among hospice programs and other community organizations that maximize scarce resources and share the financial burden of caring for those infected with HIV are presented as models. The diverse funding sources and individual hospice program decisions about palliative treatments and drugs and admission criteria highlight the difficulty of generalizing from the survey.