there is no hope for recovery — your organs are no longer able to function on their own. Keeping the treatment going at that point may draw out the process of dying and may also be costly. Choosing to remove life support usually means you’ll die within hours or days.
When a treatment is clearly futile and it will no longer achieve its “clinical” objective and no longer offers a physiological benefit to the patient, then obviously, there should be no obligation to continue to provide the treatment.
Medicare will usually pay for a short stay in an approved skilled nursing facility, under the following conditions:
– You have had a recent previous hospital stay of at least three days;
– You are admitted to a Medicare-certified nursing facility within 30 days of your prior hospital stay, and;
– You require skilled care, such as specific nursing services, physical therapy, or other types of therapy.
Medicare will pay for hospice care if you have a terminal illness and are not expected to live more than six months. When you qualify for hospice care, Medicare covers the costs of drugs used to manage the illness and provide relief from pain, provide support services from a Medicare-approved services provider and certain other services Medicare normally does not cover, such as grief counseling.
When it comes to Tinslee’s case, the hospital did not argue that expense was a factor in their desire to end life support, but the child’s well-being. Stay tuned to see how this plays out. Either way, we pray, wish and hope for the best for the child and the family.