Hospice is a special concept of care designed to provide comfort and support to patients in the final phase of a terminal illness and to focus on comfort and quality of life, rather than cure. In 2007, an estimated 1.4 million patients received services in approximately 4,700 hospice care facilities across the U.S.
The U.S. market for hospice care totaled more than $13.7 billion in 2007 and is still growing due to rising patient utilization as well as annual price increases. It is projected that by 2012, total U.S. hospice revenues will exceed $23.3 billion. Currently, the U.S. hospice market is extremely fragmented, where some of the agencies focus exclusively on hospice care, while other nursing and home-care companies include hospice programs as part of their diverse operations.
In 2007, the average length of hospice service was 59.8 days and the average cost per patient totaled about $9,200. The sources of payments for hospice care include Medicare and Medicaid benefits, private insurance and self-pay. In 2007, the percentage of patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid was 83.6% and 5.0% respectively, indicating that the market is highly dependent upon government regulations and the level of participation in these programs.