Sorry, I didn't make it clear.
The majority of Medicare policies have a hospice benefit. The benefit pays a flat daily rate to cover all services, treatments, medications, durable medical equipment, disposable supplies and professional services (including physician services) related to the patient's terminal illness. It is the same for Medicaid and most private insurances. There are specific Medicare policies and private insurances that don't have a hospice benefit.
Something many people don't know is that Medicare also requires a certain percentage of total patient care hours be provided by volunteer labor. I'm not sure what it is now but it was 5% when I was working in hospice. So, volunteering for hospice is not only rewarding but helps the hospice to stay compliant with Medicare.
Private donations often go towards covering services for people without Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance or a means to help pay for the care.

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In my career I spent countle$$ hours caring for my patients and their families at a most vul-ner-able and in-ti-mate time. Then I would complete the countle$$ forms and all the doc-u-men-ta-tion nece$$ary for Medicare. If someone does not have any sort of insurance coverage for hospice care, they are not expected to pay for their care although the hospice is required by Medicare to bill for the services. Someone who cannot pay for their care receives the same level of care a$ anyone else. The cost of this care is usually covered by donations, memorials, etc. Many patients or families choose to have memorial money go to a hospice a$ grat-i-tude for the services provided. Hospice caregiving is a calling not a job. It is the best and most rewarding work someone can do.
The end.
Sorry about having to break up my com-ment. Only way to get it past big brother.

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And, I have participated in many surveys in the agencies I have worked for. An inspection is comprehensive and takes about 5 days (40 hours) to complete. The level of care provided is looked at closely including visits by inspectors to hospice patients.
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I'm not certain what hospices the article is referring to except maybe a volunteer hospice organization or a hospice not certified by Medicare. An uncertified hospice does not receive Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance coverage. I don't know of any in Iowa although there may be one or two. This hospice care is probably paid for by the patient or family and would be quite expensive.
Most facility hospice care is provided in nursing homes or special hospital units. These are inspected at least yearly. I'm not certain how often a free standing hospice inpatient facility is inspected but I would guess it's more frequently than once every 20 years.
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First it took numerous tries to get this pa$t the administrator, whatever that means.
I am offended by this article. I believe this article ha$ left out factual information and misrepresented other facts to put honorable organizations into question. I retired from hospice 2 years ago after working a$ a registered nurse manager. To receive Medicare or Medicaid money for caring for those individuals and their families a hospice must be certified by Medicare. A Medicare certified hospice is inspected by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals a minimum of once every 5 years. Additionally, IDIA must follow up on every complaint, often with a personal visit from an inspector. (continued below)

Very sad story. Children are left without their parent.
I'm in the health care field. There is a reason motorcycles are often referred to as "donor" cycles in the ER. The motorcyclist often becomes another statistic.

In the rational world, suicide is a very selfish act. This lady was probably mentally ill. Unfortunately, mental illness often does not allow rational thinking to take place. Also, we know nothing about what drove this woman to take her own life. Very sad for everyone connected to this story.

Oh my goodness...can no one see this story for what it is? The media's idea of fun at our expense. The media thrives on public reaction. They put a spin on a story to get our ire up And it works.
This guy is one of thousands in our criminal justice system. His story is not unique...I've dealt with many of them in my health care profession. My point is that something is needed to help prevent offenders from becoming repeat offenders. When we have them in our control, that is the perfect opportunity to do something. It saves us (the taxpayers) in the long term. I don't want this guy (or any other guy like him) living off my dollar for the rest of his life.
One question in the back of my tiny mind is....does this guy have a family we will be supporting also?
One last thing so you understand me.....I am a proud gun carrying conservative Republican. I want our state and federal finances in order, our borders secure, our military strong, our health care system out of government hands and I would like to see functional intact family units (mom, dad, kids). I am compas sionate and I believe that we must start in our own backyard. This is why I am showing compas sion toward someone who is probably guilty of the charges against him and owes a debt to society by way of jail time. This is also the time to get him straightened out and ready to be a better citizen.

Sorry, I stand by my opinion. Unless we (society, taxpayers, law enforcement, etc) wish this guy to become a frequent flyer in our court and health care systems, now is the time to do something about it. We have Mr. Copenhaver under our control and it seems that he should be given the care and tools to be a better citizen when he is released. A little investment now saves us (the taxpayers) in the long term.
As for his victims...I hope they have sought help for their own anxieties.
Please don't confuse compas sion with "feeling sorry." I DO NOT feel sorry for this guy. If he did the crime, he must do the time, but do we throw away the proverbial key and look forward to having him in our welfare or criminal system for life? I think not. I am looking at this situation from a monetary as well as a Christian perspective.

I've read the article a couple of times. And....I must say that I am a conservative Christian so you all know my opinions concerning President Obama's policies, etc. I am also a compas sionate person and I believe Mr. Copenhaver deserves our compas sion. My career as a health care professional indicates that Mr. Copenhaver probably does have the pain he claims BUT, he also has too much time available to worry about his aches and pains. His lawyer is probably some schmuck appointed by the courts.
Anyway, I propose that Mr. Copenhaver be trained to help himself (and not to other people's possessions). As long as he is incarcerated, he can be helped with increased exercise and diet restrictions to begin with. Later add some rehab so maybe, just maybe he'll get out of jail a better human being.
Then....the system has worked.