(LifeSiteNews) — A bombshell report was released this year evidencing a scandal that ranks among the worst in its evil: the euthanization of patients for the sake of profit. It made enough of a splash to spur new industry protocols but apparently not enough to stop the entrenched practice of hastening the death of hospice patients.
The November 2022 report, written by Ava Kofman for ProPublica, shows how hospice conditions create what seems to be an irresistible — and ultimately lethal — opportunity for corruption: The industry rakes in massive funds from Medicare, which delivers a flat daily cash benefit, but hospice groups must repay those funds if the average length of stay of all patients exceeds six months.
An investigation cited by Kofman’s article found that half of hospice patients in a random sample were ineligible for some or all of the care they received, a problem consistent with the testimony of hospice whistleblower Marsha Farmer. She told Kofman how her supervisor set “ungodly” quotas for hospice enrollment, and then threatened to fire employees if they didn’t meet those quotas.
