FAQ

Do patients have to pay HHCP for visits?

We bill your insurance provider directly for home health and hospice services.

Does Medicare pay for hospice services?

Yes, if the patient qualifies for hospice services.

Are services for mental illness covered?

Yes, if the patient qualifies for home healthcare under Medicare.

What insurances do you accept?

Please see our list of accepted insurances (link). However, it is best to call, as new insurances are added periodically and may not be listed here.

What is hospice?

Hospice offers palliative care that seeks to comfort rather than cure. Hospice offers comprehensive, compassionate care for people at the end of life and support for their families.

Who can receive hospice?

Any person facing the advancing stages of any terminal illness is eligible for palliative care. Hospice care is appropriate when the following conditions are met:

• The physician thinks that the patient will live six months or less if the disease runs its normal course
• Aggressive treatments are not working or providing relief to the patient
• The patient, family and physician agree and understand that the focus of hospice care is on comfort (pain control and symptom management), not cure

All U.S. citizens age 65 and older are entitled to Medicare coverage for hospice at the end of life.

Where is hospice care provided?

Hospice is a philosophy of care, not a place. Most hospice patients receive care in their home or the home of a relative or friend. Palliative care can also be provided in many long-term care facilities, assisted living facilities, hospitals or nursing homes. Some hospices have residential units designed to provide a homelike setting where hospice is provided.

How is hospice care different from other types of home health care?

• Comfort vs. cure: For most home health care providers, the goal is to get the patient well. In hospice, the staff and family recognize that the patient will not get well. They focus on comfort and support, rather than cure.
• Interdisciplinary team approach: All members of the care team – the physicians, nurses, social workers, grief support and spiritual care counselors, aides and volunteers – work together to coordinate care.
• Family focus: Home Health Care Professionals palliative care focuses on the entire family. The hospice team teaches the family how to be involved in their loved one’s care.
• Grief support: Hospice care does not end when a patient dies, Home Health Care Professionals, grief support staff and volunteers maintain contact with the family for up to13 months after the death of a patient.

What if my doctor does not mention hospice?

The patient and family should feel free to discuss hospice care at any time with their physician, other health care professionals, clergy or friends. Everyone is urged to prepare Advance Directives that spell out the type of care we want to receive at the end of life.

What geographic areas do you cover?

Services are available in the following Northeast PA counties:

• Lackawanna
• Wayne
• Susquehanna
• Wyoming
• Luzerne (Pittston, Plains, Jenkins Townships only)
• Pike (Blooming Grove, Greene, Lackawaxen, Milford, Palmyra, Porter, Townships only)
• Monroe (Coolbaugh, Tobyhanna Townships only)

If you have questions or would like to speak with us, please contact us at (570) 876-2900 or at info@hhcpinc.com. We will make ourselves available to you at a time and place that is convenient for you!