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Minorities less likely to use hospice care, study says

Case Management Weekly, March 21, 2007

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Far fewer minorities use hospice care for terminal illness compared with whites, according to a study released by the California HealthCare Foundation, an Oakland-based philanthropy.

Citing 2004 data of patients who died while receiving services, the researchers found:

• 74% were white
• 4% were Asian American
• 6% were African American
• 15% were Latino

The study concluded that the requirements for hospice enrollment can conflict with the preferences of patients such as African Americans and Latinos, who might not want to forego acute therapies not covered by Medicare's hospice benefit.

To help combat the disproportionate number of minorities using hospice, the authors recommend reforming the Medicare Hospice Benefit to allow for more aggressive treatments along with palliative care.

Source: The Los Angeles Times; California Heathline

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