United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2007-12-14 monographic deposited born digital 27 p. GA 1.13:GAO-08-66 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66 P0b002ee18039d7fc f:d0866 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66 GAO-08-66 End-of-life issues Health care costs Health care planning Health care programs Health care reform Health care services Health policy Home health care services Hospices Managed health care Medicare Preventive health care services Public health Strategic planning Arizona Florida Medicare Program Oregon Wisconsin Other Written Product A79709 Approximately 28 percent of all Medicare spending in 1999 was used to provide care for beneficiaries in the last year of their lives. The Medicare hospice benefit is specifically designed for end-of-life care but is an elected benefit for individuals who have a terminal diagnosis with a prognosis of 6 months or less if the disease runs its normal course. GAO was asked to identify examples of programs that provide key components of end-of-life care. Specifically, GAO (1) identified key components of end-of-life care, (2) identified and described how certain programs incorporate key components of end-of-life care, and (3) described the challenges program providers have identified to delivering the key components of end-of-life care. To identify the key components of end-of-life care, GAO relied on studies by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). To identify and describe programs that implement these key components and describe the challenges providers of these programs face, GAO conducted site visits to four states, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, and Wisconsin, that, in addition to other criteria, demonstrated a high use of end-of-life services. We interviewed officials of federal, state, and private programs in these four states that provide care to individuals nearing the end of life. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66.pdf GAO-08-66 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-08-66 Other Written Product GAO-08-66; End-of-Life Care: Key Components Provided by Programs in Four States; End-of-life issues Health care costs Health care planning Health care programs Health care reform Health care services Health policy Home health care services Hospices Managed health care Medicare Preventive health care services Public health Strategic planning Arizona Florida Medicare Program Oregon Wisconsin