J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, responds to Georgia Health News’ article about hospice  in a new GHN Commentary piece.

Schumacher says that while Medicare spending on hospice is rising, the dollars are well spent.  Every time a Medicare beneficiary uses hospice, the program saves about $2,300, he says.

“We must ensure that in our efforts to cut costs, we do not unintentionally prevent patients and families from accessing the most comprehensive, cost-effective, patient-centered care – hospice,’’ Schumacher writes in his Commentary.

Here’s a link to Schumacher’s Commentary.

Georgia Health News welcomes Commentary submissions. If you would like to propose a Commentary piece for Georgia Health News, please e-mail Andy Miller, editor of GHN, at  amiller@georgiahealthnews.com