National Hospice Month, 2010

Proclamation 8594 of October 29, 2010

National Hospice Month, 2010

By the President of the United States of America

A Proclamation

During National Hospice Month, we recognize the dignity
hospice care can provide to patients who need it most,
and the professionals, volunteers, and family members
who bring peace to individuals in their final days.

Hospice care gives medical services, emotional support,
and spiritual resources to people facing life-limiting
illnesses. It can also help families and caregivers
manage the details and emotional challenges of caring
for a dying loved one. The decision to place someone
into a hospice program can be difficult, but Americans
can have peace of mind knowing the doctors and
professionals involved with these services are trained
to administer high-quality and comprehensive care for
terminally ill individuals. As many of our Nation's
veterans age and cope with illness, hospice and
palliative care can also provide tailored support to
meet the needs of these heroes.

The Affordable Care Act signed into law this year
protects and expands hospice services covered under
Federal health care programs. Prior to its enactment,
the prohibition on concurrent care for Federal health
care programs meant patients could not receive hospice
care before first discontinuing treatments to cure
their disease. The Affordable Care Act permanently
eliminates this prohibition for children enrolled in
Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program,
and creates demonstration projects to test how the
elimination of the concurrent care prohibition would
impact Medicare. As a result, fewer children, seniors,
and families will have to make the heart-rending choice
between coverage that fights an illness and coverage
that provides needed comfort.

All Americans should take comfort in the important work
of hospice care, which enables individuals to carry on
their lives, in spite of a terminal illness. During
this month, let us recognize those who allow the
terminally ill to receive comfortable and dignified
care.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the
United States of America, by virtue of the authority
vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim November 2010 as
National Hospice Month. I encourage citizens, medical
institutions, government and social service agencies,
businesses, nonprofit organizations, and other
interested groups to join in activities that promote
awareness of the important role of hospice care.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-ninth day of October, in the year of our Lord
two thousand ten, and of the Independence of the United
States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.