One Year of President Carter Lighting the Way

NHPCO Hospice Action Network

One year ago, former President Jimmy Carter made history by making the courageous choice to share that he was entering hospice care. The Carter family is proving what many of us already know to be true: hospice provides value at any length of stay . By sharing President Carter's end-of-life journey, conversations are being sparked across the nation about palliative and hospice care. To commemorate President Carter's one year in hospice care, we wanted to share the following facts and resources:

President Carter's Hospice Journey Facts:

• President Carter is the first former US president known to utilize hospice care.
• The Carter administration tested hospice care as a model, which led to the Medicare Hospice Benefit we know today.
• The average Length of Stay for Medicare hospice patients in 2021 was 92 days, and the median was 17.
• President Carter is receiving the same hospice care that is available to all Americans under the Medicare Hospice Benefit.

President Carter's Hospice Journey Resources:

• Video commemorating President Carter's courageous choice

• New York Times story on President Carter's one year in hospice. Ben Marcantonio, NHPCO's COO and Interim CEO, quoted.

• Axios article on how President Carter's story is making the public more aware of the truths of hospice care. Logan Hoover, Executive Director of HAN, quoted.

Thank you, President Carter for lighting the way for all of us.