Medical complexity and concurrent hospice care: A national study of Medicaid children from 2011 to 2013

Purpose Pediatric hospice is a comprehensive model of care for medically complex children at end of life. The Affordable Care Act changed regulatory requirements for pediatric Medicaid enrollees to allow for enrollment into hospice services while still receiving life‐prolonging therapy. There are gaps in understanding factors associated with pediatric concurrent hospice care use. The objectives were to examine the prevalence of concurrent hospice care overtime and investigated the relationship between medical complexity and concurrent hospice care among Medicaid children. Design and Methods We used national Medicaid data and included children less than 21 years with an admission to hospice care. Medical complexity was defined with four criteria (i.e., chronic conditions, functional limitations, high health care use and substantial needs). Using multivariate logistic regression, we evaluated the influence of medical complexity on concurrent hospice care use, while controlling for demographic, hospice, and community characteristics. Results Thirty‐four percent of the study sample used concurrent hospice care. Medical complexity was unrelated to concurrent hospice care. However, the four individual criteria were associated. A complex chronic condition was negatively related to concurrent hospice care, whereas technology dependence, multiple complex chronic conditions, and mental/behavioral disorders were positively associated to concurrent care use. Practice Implications These findings suggest that concurrent hospice care may be important for a subset of medically complex children with functional limitations, high health utilization, and substantial needs at end of life.