Eligibility for hospice care

What decides eligibility

Eligibility for hospice care is based on a life expectancy of 6 months or less in the natural course of an illness. It is the expected course of the illness, and nothing else in the chart, that qualifies her.

What does not decide it

Three things that look as if they qualify her do not:

• A majority of hospice patients have cancer, but a cancer diagnosis is not a requirement to qualify for hospice care.
• Age is not relevant.
• Comorbid conditions may affect longevity but are not required.

The shape of the question is an 85-year-old woman with metastatic breast cancer who requests hospice care and who also has type 2 diabetes mellitus, stage 3 renal failure and heart disease. Her cancer, her age and her comorbid conditions are all put up as answers, and the one to pick is her life expectancy.