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.
In 2014, the median length of service for hospice patients was 17.4 days. This means that of the estimated 1.6 to 1.7 million patients who received hospice services that year, half received hospice care for less than 17.4 days, and the other half received it for longer than that. In fact, the average number of days a patient received hospice care in 2014 was 71.3 days. The dying process takes time. Because of the highly skilled care that hospice workers can provide to their patients, hospice proves most effective when the caregiving team has time to deliver it.