In eBenefits, apply using the Veterans On-line Application (VONAPP) to complete and submit your application online. You can also submit a paper application. To do this, download and complete VA Form 22-1990, Application for VA Education Benefits and mail it to a VA Regional Processing Office.
But such care can be expensive, costing upward of $10,000 a month, according to the Health Affairs study. That puts hospices in a financial bind. Last year, the Medicare program paid a base rate of $151 per day to cover all routine hospice services, adjusted for geographic differences.
Though the average length-of-stay figure was drawn higher by the 12% of patients who remain in hospice longer than 180 days, half of patients spend 19.7 days or less in hospice. That figure also is down since 2008, when the median hospice stay was 21.3 days, said the report (link).