Supplemental Benefits Help Ruth Receive Supplemental Shakes while in Hospice Care

“It was such a burden lifted to know that I had somebody helping us. It was amazing!” said Dawn, retired teacher and caregiver to her mother-in-law, Ruth, age 79. “It’s nice to know you are not alone when you are struggling, and that Humana is compassionate to your needs.”

Ruth, a longtime Humana member in Fulton County, Ga., lives with Parkinson’s disease and dementia. She lived with her son and daughter-in-law until her diseases progressed such that she required 24-hour care. The family found an assisted living facility nearby that could attend to Ruth’s increasing needs.

As her Parkinson’s disease progressed, Ruth was getting worse and began falling more frequently, causing joint pain. Her appetite changed and she dramatically began losing weight. A professional evaluation revealed that Ruth met eligibility criteria for hospice care. Considering her overall decline, Ruth’s family felt hospice services would provide Ruth with the comfort and dignity she deserved.

Hospice care is a compassionate form of specialized care that focuses on the care, comfort and quality of life for people experiencing an advanced illness and may be approaching the end of their life. Hospice care provides support for the patient as well as the family and caregivers.

Ruth was admitted to Agape Hospice services in June 2022. Ruth wasn’t eating, so she wasn’t thriving. Her weight had dropped to 83 pounds. “Ruth has a distain for food. She doesn’t like to eat,” Dawn said. “She often claims that she doesn’t have time to eat. But put a straw in it and that’s fine!”

Ruth’s family discovered that she is willing to drink her calories through protein drinks and juices. But sometimes these items can be hard to find on store shelves in large quantities and can become expensive.

In early July 2022, Amber Cavaness, former social worker with the Humana Hospice Centralized Team (HHCT), connected with Agape’s social worker, Helen, to let her know about three supplemental benefits Ruth was eligible for as part of the Humana Value-Based Insurance Design (VBID) model for hospice care: Transitional Concurrent Care (TCC), In-Home Respite (IHR) care, and a Hospice Care Assistance (HCA) allowance.

Typically, once in hospice care, a patient would no longer be under the care of their previous primary care physician or specialists, but Ruth had an upcoming neurologist appointment that had been scheduled prior to entering hospice. Ashley Marshall, a nurse with HHCT, talked with Ruth, her family and the clinical team at Agape to determine that she wished to go to her final neurologist appointment to receive reassurance that hospice was truly the right decision for her.

“Ruth was able to attend her final neurologist appointment with ease under her Transitional Concurrent Care benefit and remain on hospice services during this time,” said Ashley. “Ruth and her family were also able to utilize her HCA allowance to stock supplemental shakes and her favorite foods and snacks like peanut butter,” said Amber.

“Some things that Ruth will drink are not available on shelves in stores, but it was easy to work with Humana,” said Dawn. “We could take a picture of what we wanted and send a request to Amber. Cases of drinks and juices would be delivered to our front porch, often arriving within 24-36 hours.”

In addition to purchasing groceries to help Ruth gain weight, the family used the HCA allowance to purchase household products like laundry detergent, self-care retail items and paper products used daily to help support Ruth’s quality of life.

By February 2023, Ruth had successfully gained weight and was 95 pounds. She was doing so well that she no longer qualified for hospice care. Her family was thrilled with her progress, and she was discharged from hospice care in April 2023.

“Dawn served as Ruth’s advocate and was instrumental in utilizing these supplemental benefits on behalf of her mother-in-law while on hospice,” said Ashley. “She left no stone unturned and advocated that Ruth receive any and all eligible benefits through Humana to support her end-of-life journey.”

“The care Ruth has been given by many has helped in her recovery of her strength. For that we are grateful,” said Dawn. “The care you and your team have given to our family is and will be cherished. Knowing people care does wonders for families that are struggling.”

Dawn, Amber and Helen developed a close relationship while caring for Ruth. Ashley said, “Even when benefits were no longer needed, Dawn still found a way to bless our team through her positive words of affirmation and encouragement, particularly when she called just to check in on our team.”

“I love coming to work each day knowing that through [VBID plan] supplemental benefits, we are able to offer encouragement and support to a vulnerable population at such a special time in their lives,” said Ashley. “I am honored to be a member of this team and even more humbled to serve our patients and families each and every day.”

The primary goal and daily actions of the Humana Hospice Centralized Team are to serve our eligible Medicare members who have a Value-Based Insurance Design benefit on their plan with Humana. Visit our website to learn more.

Medicare approved Agape Hospice to provide supplemental benefits as part of the Value-Based Insurance Design program. This program lets Medicare try new ways to improve Medicare Advantage plans.

Not all benefits are available on all plans and not all plans are available in all areas. Exclusions and limitations apply. Check your plan materials for more information.

Your results may vary. It may not be typical to improve health conditions by taking the actions Ruth did.