Carter defies odds with 19-month hospice stay: Former president's experience shines light on program

Carter defies odds with 19-month hospice stay: Former president's experience shines light on program 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution; by Shelia Poole; 9/27/24 
The Rev. Tony Lowden recently visited former President Jimmy Carter at his Plains home, where he is under hospice care. Carter, who turns 100 on Tuesday, was doing “good, fantastic,” said Lowden, who has been Carter’s personal pastor for seven years. Few would have expected such news about Carter, who has been under home hospice care for roughly 19 months.Only 10% of people on Medicare who died while under hospice care were in the program for 275 days or longer in 2022, according to MedPAC, an independent agency that advises Congress on issues affecting the Medicare program. Carter’s longevity while under hospice care continues to defy the odds, but that doesn’t surprise those who know his grit. ... Facts and Figures About Hospice Care:

• The first hospice in the United States was founded in 1974.
• More than 90% of hospice care in the U.S. is provided in the patient’s home, whether a private residence, an assisted living facility or a nursing home.
• Roughly 1.72 million Medicare beneficiaries were enrolled in hospice care for a day or more in 2022. In Georgia, more than 55,600 Medicare patients died while in hospice care that year.
• More than 90% of hospice care in the nation is paid for by Medicare.
• Only those with a prognosis of six months or less to live are considered for admission to a hospice facility or for a “home hospice” program providing limited nursing care during the day, and often 24/7 support by phone.