Humanizing Hospice: Former President Jimmy Carter’s Impact on End-of-Life Care
Photo courtesy of The Carter Center.
Author: Jena Wallace
Posted: January 2, 2025
Strategic Solutions for Hospice Care Agencies
Few public figures have left as enduring a legacy in end-of-life care as the late former President Jimmy Carter. Beyond his presidency and humanitarian efforts, Carter’s decision to share his hospice journey has brought greater attention to the dignity and quality of care possible for individuals nearing the final stages of life. His lengthy hospice experience will continue to shape societal understanding of hospice and end-of-life care in years to come.
Breaking Down Misconceptions About Hospice
Misconceptions about hospice care often create barriers to its adoption, leaving families hesitant to explore this vital support system. However, the late former President Carter’s decision to enter hospice in February 20231 helped to bring greater awareness to the true purpose of end-of-life care: hospice isn’t simply a physical place where the dying go to die; it is an approach centered on enhancing the quality of life through tailored, patient-focused care and providing comprehensive support for loved ones.
Hospice enables patients to live fully and comfortably on their own terms in life’s final days, weeks, months, or even years. Former President Carter himself lived fully on hospice care for 22 months until passing away on December 29, 2024, at age 1002.
What Does Hospice Care Entail?
- Patient-Focused Care: Hospice honors patients’ preferences, whether rooted in cultural, religious, or personal values. This approach centers patients at the heart of care, ensuring their wishes are honored and respected.
- Enhanced Quality of Life: Comfort and support—whether physical, emotional, or spiritual—are prioritized over aggressive medical treatments and hospitalizations. Patients can receive hospice care at home or in a hospice facility, allowing them to spend their remaining time how they choose.
- Support for Families: Hospice care provides comprehensive support to families and loved ones throughout the end-of-life journey. Caregivers offer everything from guidance to logistical support to grief counseling for families of hospice patients.
- Cost Effectiveness: Hospice care is proven to save costs3 and ease financial burdens on families by reducing hospital readmissions and overzealous medical treatments.
Former President Jimmy Carter’s Wide-Ranging Impact on Hospice Care
Former President Jimmy Carter’s impact on the hospice industry runs deeper than simply functioning as a public example of what end-of-life care can be—the late former President helped shape hospice care in the U.S. from its early beginnings. The federal payment model demonstration—which helped lead to the founding of the Medicare Hospice Benefit—was introduced under the Carter administration4, ultimately laying the groundwork for greater understanding and access to hospice services in the U.S.
Decades later, when Carter and his family openly shared their experience with hospice, they provided an authentic glimpse into its value and possibilities—particularly the merit of longer hospice stays like Carter’s.
His lengthy hospice journey provides a stark contrast to traditional assumptions about hospice care, helping challenge the mindset that hospice is synonymous with imminent death or cause for regulatory concern5. Instead, Carter’s long hospice journey provides a tangible example of the possibilities and benefits of extended end-of-life care.
According to a March 2023 joint report by NORC at the University of Chicago and the National Alliance for Care at Home, longer hospice stays are associated with lower Medicare end-of-life spending6. The report additionally states that hospice stays of 6 or more months can reduce Medicare costs by an average of 11%, underscoring the cost benefits of earlier enrollment into hospice care.
These insights, when paired with the holistic focus on enhancing quality of life as well as former President Jimmy Carter’s experience with long hospice care, illustrate the wealth of benefits hospice provides for patients, families, caregivers, and agencies.
Destigmatizing Hospice Care
Former President Carter’s decision to prioritize his quality of life over additional medical treatments has sparked new awareness and conversations across the nation about the benefits of hospice care.
The Carter family’s transparency about their hospice care journey highlights the importance of comprehensive end-of-life planning. Conversations about hospice and end-of-life care choices are difficult, but necessary to ensure patients and families are comfortable, supported, and honored with dignity during life’s final moments.
Hospice care offers patients the opportunity to live the remainder of their life comfortably while supporting families preparing for and navigating loss. The late former President Carter’s public hospice care journey serves as a necessary reminder that hospice is not supposed to be grim, but rather an uplifting, powerful decision rooted in acceptance and personal choice.
Resources
1. “Statement On President Carter’s Health.” The Carter Center. Accessed December 31, 2024. https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2023/statement-on-president-carters-health.html.
2. “Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter Passes Away at 100.” The Carter Center. Accessed December 31, 2024. https://www.cartercenter.org/news/pr/2024/statement-on-president-jimmy-carter-122924.html.
3. “New Research Shows Hospice Care Reduces Medicare Costs.” NHPCO, March 22, 2023. https://www.nhpco.org/new-research-shows-hospice-care-reduces-medicare-costs/.
4. Cohen, Joshua P. “President Jimmy Carter’s Decision to Opt for Hospice Care Adds to His Legacy.” Forbes, October 4, 2023. https://www.forbes.com/sites/joshuacohen/2023/10/03/former-president-jimmy-carters-decision-to-opt-for-hospice-care-adds-to-his-legacy/.
5. Vossel, Holly. “Hospice Length of Stay: Balancing Patient Needs Against Regulatory Compliance.” Hospice News, March 29, 2023. https://hospicenews.com/2023/03/29/hospice-length-of-stay-balancing-patient-needs-versus-regulatory-compliance/.
6. “Value of Hospice in Medicare Report.” NHPCO, January 26, 2024. https://www.nhpco.org/hospiceworks.