Policy and the Re-Formation of Hospice: Lessons from the Past for the Future of Palliative Care

During the twentieth-century, dramatic changes in the manner and location of care for the dying resulted in the conception and birth of the modern American hospice movement. Idealistic nurses, clergy, and others concerned about the plight of terminally ill cancer patients launched hospice as a necessary health care reform. As new hospice programs opened across the country, the idealism of the early leaders gave way to more pragmatic issues such as program viability. As hospice was studied and integrated into the health care system, it came to be redefined by the politics of health policy and the health care industry. As a result, there is a disarticulation between the needs of seriously ill persons and their families and the health care that is available to them. Important lessons can be learned from the history of the Medicare hospice benefit to help guide current palliative care policy initiatives. While formalized reimbursement for hospice enhanced organizational sustainability, many critical issues remain.