How to choose hospice care

Who this guide is for

For people with a terminal illness, and their families, who want care focused on comfort instead of treatment to cure the illness. Hospice is not only for the last days: it can help for months. Palliative care (comfort care alongside treatment) is a different service that can start at any stage of a serious illness.

What the official data on our pages means

Family caregiver survey rating

1 to 5 stars from the CAHPS Hospice Survey, answered by family members or friends who cared for a patient who died while in hospice: communication, getting help quickly, treating the patient with respect, emotional support and help with pain.

Would definitely recommend / rated 9 or 10

The share of families who gave the best answers. Higher is better.

Hospice Care Index

A score from 0 to 10 built from claims data, such as whether patients got visits in their last days and whether the hospice gave higher levels of care when needed. Higher is better.

Office address

Hospice care is given where the patient lives (home, nursing home or assisted living). The address is the hospice’s office; ask which areas it serves.

Questions to ask when you call or visit

• Is the hospice certified by Medicare, and does it serve the area where the patient lives (home, nursing home or assisted living)?
• How quickly can care start, and how often will a nurse and an aide visit?
• Who answers the phone at night and on weekends, and how fast can a nurse come to the home?
• How does the team manage pain and other symptoms? Which medicines, equipment and supplies are included?
• Does the hospice offer short inpatient stays or respite care to give family caregivers a break? Where?
• Can the patient keep their own doctor? Who leads the care plan, and how is the family included?
• What support is offered for the family: social worker, chaplain, volunteers, grief support after a death?
• Are there staff or interpreters who speak your language?
• Are there any costs you would pay? Ask for the answer in writing.

Warning signs

• Someone comes to your door or calls to sign you up for hospice without your doctor’s referral, or offers gifts or free services to sign up.
• You are told the patient is “not sick enough” to need visits, or calls at night are not returned.
• Pain or other symptoms are not brought under control and the plan of care does not change.
• You are told that the patient can never leave hospice. A patient can stop hospice at any time and go back to treatment.

Costs and who pays

Medicare (Part A) covers hospice when a hospice doctor and your doctor (if you have one) certify that you are terminally ill, generally with a life expectancy of 6 months or less if the illness runs its normal course, and you choose comfort care instead of care to cure the illness. The care, medicines for pain and symptoms, equipment and supplies related to the illness are covered; you may pay a small copayment for some medicines and for inpatient respite care.

Medicare hospice does not pay for room and board where you live (for example in a nursing home), or for treatment meant to cure the terminal illness while you are in hospice. Medicare keeps paying for care of health problems not related to the terminal illness.

Medicaid in most states and many private insurance plans also cover hospice. Ask the hospice what your plan covers.

In general terms only. Deductibles, coinsurance and other amounts change every year, and Medicaid rules differ by state: check Medicare.gov, call 1-800-MEDICARE or your state Medicaid agency, and ask your plan.

How to complain or get help

• Talk to the hospice’s director or the team’s nurse first.
• State survey agency: the state agency that inspects hospices for Medicare takes complaints about the care.
• People with Medicare: the BFCC-QIO for your state reviews complaints about the quality of care and appeals if the hospice says your services will end.
• Report possible hospice fraud (signing up people who are not terminally ill, or billing for care not given) to Medicare.
• Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227), TTY 1-877-486-2048, free, with help in Spanish and other languages.

Find care on US Patient Guide

Common questions

Sources

• Medicare Care Compare (Medicare.gov)
• Hospice care: what Medicare covers (Medicare.gov)
• Medicare Hospice Benefits (Medicare booklet 02154, PDF)
• CAHPS Hospice Survey of family caregivers (CMS)
• What are palliative care and hospice care? (National Institute on Aging)
• Quality Improvement Organizations (CMS QIO Program)
• National Institute on Aging in Spanish
• Medicare.gov in Spanish

Written in plain language by US Patient Guide from the official sources above, November 2, 2026. The facts on each provider page come from the official data shown on that page, with its date. Not medical advice.