Making sure the family can come around is an important aspect of hospice care around the country. However, that goal can become a challenge for hospice facilities in rural areas. And even more difficult for veteran families when a facility no longer qualifies as a hospice facility for the Veteran’s Health Administration.
So we were called from the local VA office in Iron Mountain in late December that we would no longer be servicing veterans at Omega House. This was a surprise because, for at least the last half dozen years, we’ve cared for almost a dozen veterans per year to receive their end-of-life care here at Omega House. And we were filling a critical gap in the community. We, a lot of times, have beds available that may not be available at local facilities or the contracted facility here in town. And veterans were able to come here for their end-of-life care. And now with this change, we’re looking at our veterans who want reimbursement through the VA. They’re likely to get their care maybe 100 miles away, with Iron River, and Iron Mountain as the first options. If they are full, those residents or veterans may end up going even further away from home. – Mike Lutz, Executive Director, Omega House
Omega House was one of two hospice facilities in Houghton County accessible at no cost, through VA benefits, to veterans. Canal View retained its status as a unified hospice facility for the VA. However, like other long-term care facilities in the United States, they have a small hospice care area. Making full-size hospice care facilities important to communities.
Another aspect of this is that we do still have inpatient hospice care through Canal View, which is a medical care facility. However, the costs associated with that, if there is availability, are much higher for the Veterans Health Administration. Typically, they’re going to pay for an inpatient hospice care facility like Omega House, and there are several across the UP and nationwide. The VHA gonna pay them less than they would pay these other facilities that have much higher and more stringent guidelines and costs. – Joe Battisfore, Director, Houghton County Veteran Service Office
Houghton County Veteran Service Office director Joe Battisfore has sent letters to local representatives notifying leaders of the challenge Omega House faces. He says Omega House was likely left off the qualified facilities list due to a lack of a code specific to hospice facilities.
All veterans who are enrolled in healthcare are eligible for hospice care through the Veterans Health Administration. Whereas only veterans who are rated at 70% or more for service-connected disabilities are eligible for long-term care paid by the Veterans Health Administration. Recently, this decision to remove the Omega House as one of the approved facilities has reduced the capacity and the ability to provide inpatient care. Hospice care for veterans in our area, but this is a UP-wide, statewide, and really a national issue. – Joe Battisfore, Director, Houghton County Veteran Service Office
Omega House is not a contracted facility with the VA. However, we are always a secondary location when the contracted facility in Houghton County is full, and then their residents could get placed here. We want the letter to show our congressmen that we have more options in town for end-of-life care. We want them to re-look at the verbiage and see if there is a way to recognize places like Omega House that are hospice homes, where residential end-of-life care, and we want to be included in that verbiage because there’s no reason to send our veterans down the road for their care when they have it right here in town. – Mike Lutz, Executive Director, Omega House
Omega House Executive Director Mike Lutz wants the community to understand that veterans can still reside at the facility. However, the veteran will not be able to use the VA’s fully covered hospice care benefit until the coding issue has been resolved. Canal View of Houghton County does accept the VHA hospice benefits but has limited capacity in the home. The Iron Mountain VA CNH facilities list includes four Upper Peninsula locations and one in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
Find a copy of the letter addressed to U.S. Representative Jack Bergman, Senator Gary Peters, and 110th Dis. Representative Greg Makkanen here. Including in this copy of letters to representatives is a list of contracted VHA hospice care facilities in the Upper Peninsula, Wisconsin, and further away, here.
