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. 1988 Summer;9(4):99–111.

Table 6. Average Medicare hospice benefit and conventional care reimbursement and net hospice savings per day using two assumptions, by assumed length of stay: Fiscal year 1985.

Assumed length of stay Number1 of patients Hospice reimbursement per day Conventional care reimbursement per day2 Net hospice savings3
Assumption A4
Total 4,300 6103 $100 0.97
1-5 days 2,964 123 123 1.00
6-10 days 2,830 116 115 0.99
11-15 days 2,700 108 106 0.98
16-20 days 2,541 101 98 0.97
21-25 days 2,381 97 94 0.97
26-30 days 2,251 94 90 0.96
31-45 days 1,933 85 78 0.92
46-60 days 1,674 78 72 0.92
61-90 days 1,270 68 62 0.91
Assumption B5
Total 4,300 103 231 2.24
1-5 days 2,964 123 521 4.24
6-20 days 2,830 116 288 2.48
11-15 days 2,700 108 210 1.94
16-20 days 2,541 101 169 1.67
21-25 days 2,381 97 144 1.48
26-30 days 2,251 94 128 1.36
31-45 days 1,933 85 101 1.19
46-60 days 1,674 78 85 1.09
61-90 days 1,270 68 68 1.00
1

The number of conventional care patients in each cohort declines because patients with first recorded cancer diagnoses later than particular windows were excluded from them.

2

Part A reimbursement for Medicare beneficiaries who had a primary diagnosis of cancer, died, and did not elect the Medicare hospice benefit.

3

Defined as dollars saved in conventional care reimbursement divided by dollars of hospice reimbursement.

4

The only “saved” regular Part A inpatient episodes were those entirely within the specified window and length of stay.

5

The “saved” regular Part A inpatient episodes include both those within the interval and those that begin before and end within the interval.

6

Weighted (by hospice beneficiaries) reimbursements per day and savings ratios.