In short
Hospice is care for someone with an illness that can't be cured, focused on comfort rather than treatment to cure it. Medicare Part A covers it when a doctor certifies a life expectancy of six months or less and your parent chooses comfort care. It is usually given at home, in assisted living or in a nursing home.
Hospice and palliative care are not the same thing
Palliative care is care that eases symptoms and stress for anyone with a serious illness. It can start at diagnosis and run alongside treatment. Hospice is one kind of palliative care, for the last months of life, when the goal has moved from cure to comfort. The full comparison walks through the differences in eligibility, cost and setting.
What the Medicare hospice benefit covers
Once a hospice is chosen, Medicare's booklet says the benefit should cover what your parent needs for the terminal illness and related conditions: doctor and nursing care, medical equipment, drugs for pain and symptoms, aide and homemaker services, therapy, social work, counseling for the family, short inpatient stays and short respite stays. A hospice nurse and doctor are on call 24 hours a day.
It does not cover treatment meant to cure the illness, or room and board in a nursing home or assisted living. That second point surprises many families: the facility's monthly fee keeps going.
Where to start
What is comfort care?
Comfort care aims to ease pain and distress, not cure illness. What it includes, how it relates to hospice and palliative care, and what to ask the doctor.
Guide ReadExplainerEnd-of-life care: options and planning
End-of-life care covers comfort, emotional and spiritual support. Where it can happen, hospice and palliative options, and how to plan.
Guide ReadExplainerHospice at home: what to expect
What hospice at home provides, what family still does, after-hours help, equipment and respite, and how to prepare the house.
Guide ReadExplainerHospice eligibility: the Medicare criteria in plain words
The three Medicare conditions for hospice: Part A, a six-month certification and choosing comfort care. Plus recertification, and what if health improves.
Guide ReadExplainerHospice in a nursing home
Hospice can come to a nursing home resident. What the hospice adds, what the nursing home still does, and why room and board isn't covered.
Guide ReadExplainerHospice respite care: a break for the family caregiver
Medicare hospice respite gives the family caregiver a break of up to five days in an approved facility. How it works, the 5% cost and how to ask.
Guide ReadCompareHospice vs home health care
Both come to the home, but they serve different goals. Eligibility, what each covers, and how Medicare pays for hospice and home health compared.
Guide ReadCompareHospice vs nursing home: how they differ
Hospice is a type of care; a nursing home is a place. How they differ, how they work together, and what Medicare pays for each.
Guide ReadQuick answerHow long can you be on hospice?
Two 90-day periods, then unlimited 60-day periods, as long as a hospice doctor recertifies. What happens at six months and if your parent improves.
Guide ReadExplainerThe four levels of hospice care
Routine home care, continuous home care, general inpatient care and inpatient respite: what each means, when it's used and where it happens, per CMS.
Guide ReadQuick answerDoes Medicare cover hospice? What the benefit pays for
Medicare Part A covers hospice with no deductible. What's included, the $5 drug copay, 5% respite cost, room and board, and Medicare Advantage rules.
Guide ReadExplainerPalliative care at home
How palliative care can be given at home, who provides it, how it differs from hospice at home, and the questions to ask before starting.
Guide ReadComparePalliative care vs hospice: how they differ and how to choose
Palliative care can start at diagnosis alongside treatment. Hospice is for the last six months, focused on comfort. Eligibility, cost and setting compared.
Guide ReadExplainerSigns that the end of life may be near
Common changes in the last days and weeks of life, what they mean, and how to keep your loved one comfortable. Gentle guidance from NIA and MedlinePlus.
Guide ReadExplainerWhat is palliative care?
Palliative care improves quality of life for people with serious illness, at any stage and alongside treatment. Who it helps and who provides it.
Guide ReadDecision guideWhen to call hospice: signs it may be time to ask
Signs families and doctors look for, what to ask the doctor, and why an early hospice call often helps. Based on Medicare hospice rules and NIA guidance.
Guide ReadNot sure whether it's time?
Tell us what the doctors have said. We can explain the options and what to ask a hospice before you choose one. Free.
Questions families ask
Who pays for hospice?
For people with Medicare Part A, the hospice benefit pays for covered hospice care from a Medicare-approved hospice. Your parent may owe up to $5 per prescription for pain and symptom drugs and 5% of the approved amount for inpatient respite care.
Can hospice be provided in a nursing home or assisted living?
Yes. Medicare says hospice can usually be given in the home or the facility where your parent lives, including assisted living and nursing homes. The hospice benefit does not pay the facility's room and board.
Does choosing hospice mean giving up all treatment?
It means giving up treatment intended to cure the terminal illness. Care for other health problems is still covered by Medicare in the usual way, and your parent can stop hospice at any time.
Is palliative care only for the end of life?
No. The National Institute on Aging describes palliative care as available to anyone with a serious illness, at any age, starting as early as diagnosis and alongside other treatment.