Does Medicare Cover Hospice Care?

Yes — Medicare covers hospice through the Medicare Hospice Benefit, and most beneficiaries pay $0 for covered hospice services. If the patient has Medicare Part A and elects hospice for a terminal illness (a prognosis of about six months or less if the disease runs its normal course), Medicare pays the hospice agency for the professional team, the medications and equipment related to the terminal illness, and supplies. The big thing it does not pay is facility room and board under routine care — explained below.

What the Medicare Hospice Benefit covers

When hospice is elected, Medicare covers, for the terminal illness and related conditions:

• The hospice team's services — physician oversight, nursing visits, home health aide, social worker, chaplain, volunteers, and bereavement support for the family for at least one year (commonly up to 13 months) after the death (Medicare, 2026).
• Medications to manage symptoms and pain related to the terminal illness.
• Durable medical equipment (DME) — such as a hospital bed, wheelchair, or oxygen — and medical supplies related to the illness.
• Short-term inpatient care: General Inpatient Care (GIP) for symptom crises that can't be managed at home, and inpatient respite care to give the family caregiver a break.
• Therapies and counseling (physical, occupational, speech, dietary, grief) as needed for comfort and support.

This applies whether the patient is on Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan — the hospice benefit is paid through Original Medicare even for Advantage enrollees (Medicare, 2026).

What it does NOT cover

• Room and board. If the patient lives in a nursing facility or assisted living, Medicare hospice does not pay the daily room-and-board charge under Routine Home Care. Only GIP and inpatient respite cover “the bed,” and those are short-term. For the full picture, see does hospice cover room and board.
• Curative treatment of the terminal illness. Treatment intended to cure the terminal condition is set aside when you elect hospice (you can revoke hospice and return to standard Medicare if you change your mind).
• Care for the terminal illness from providers not arranged by your hospice. Once on hospice, related care should go through the hospice team.

Conditions unrelated to the terminal illness are still covered by your regular Medicare as usual.

The small costs that can apply

“Covered at little or no cost” is accurate, but two small charges can exist:

• Prescription drug copay: Medicare may allow a copay of up to $5 per prescription for outpatient drugs for pain and symptom management (Medicare, 2026). Many hospices absorb this.
• Inpatient respite coinsurance: for a short respite stay, the patient may owe 5% of the Medicare-approved amount for the respite stay, and respite is limited to up to 5 consecutive days per stay (Medicare, 2026).

These are deliberately small. There is no deductible for the hospice benefit itself, and there is no charge for the routine home visits, equipment, or symptom medications related to the terminal illness (Medicare, 2026). Do not anchor on any specific dollar figure you read on another site without confirming it against current CMS guidance — these amounts are set by Medicare and can change.

The misconception, corrected

The trap is hearing “Medicare covers hospice 100%” and assuming that includes wherever the patient is living. It does not. “100% of the hospice services” is true; “100% of the cost of being in a facility” is not. A family whose parent is on hospice inside a nursing home will still receive the nursing home's monthly room-and-board bill — which varies widely by facility and region (an approximate market range, not a CMS figure, often thousands of dollars a month) — unless the patient is dual-eligible for Medicaid in a state that pays that portion. Get the room-and-board answer for your exact setting before you enroll.

How to elect the benefit and what “electing” means

Medicare coverage starts when the patient (or their authorized representative) signs a hospice election statement choosing comfort-focused care for the terminal illness from a specific Medicare-certified hospice. Two physicians — the hospice medical director and, in most cases, the patient's attending physician — certify the prognosis of about six months or less if the disease runs its normal course. Electing hospice does not mean signing your life away: you may revoke at any time and return to standard Medicare, and you can re-elect later if you remain eligible. Eligibility is a clinical judgment, not a fixed test, so the practical first step is to request a free hospice evaluation rather than to decide on your own whether you “qualify.”

How long coverage lasts

The benefit is structured in benefit periods, and coverage can continue as long as the patient keeps meeting the criteria at each recertification — there is no fixed cutoff at six months. The periods run as follows:

Benefit period	Length	What happens at the end
First	90 days	Hospice physician recertifies if still eligible
Second	90 days	Recertified again if eligible
Third and beyond	60 days each, unlimited	A face-to-face encounter is required before each, then recertification

Before the third benefit period and each one after, a hospice physician or nurse practitioner must have a face-to-face encounter with the patient no more than 30 days beforehand to confirm continued eligibility. None of this creates a cost to the family; it is how the benefit is administered. For the full mechanics, see how long you can stay on hospice.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a Medigap or supplemental policy to afford hospice?

No. The hospice benefit itself has no deductible, and covered services for the terminal illness are provided at little or no cost. A supplement is not required to make hospice affordable; the main expense families plan for is facility room and board, which the routine benefit does not pay.

Does Medicare cover hospice at home, in a nursing home, and in a hospice house?

Yes — the hospice services are covered in all of those settings. What differs is room and board: at home there is no room to pay for; in a nursing home or assisted living the facility still bills for the bed under Routine Home Care; only General Inpatient and inpatient respite stays include the bed.

What if my loved one lives longer than six months?

Coverage continues as long as the hospice physician recertifies that the prognosis still fits the criteria. Outliving an estimate does not end the benefit, and a patient who stabilizes can be discharged and re-enroll later if they decline again.

Can we keep our own doctor?

Often yes — the patient's attending physician can stay involved and coordinate with the hospice team. The hospice medical director oversees the comfort-care plan, but your own doctor need not disappear.

If my parent is dual-eligible, will Medicaid help with the room?

It can. For someone enrolled in both Medicare and Medicaid in a participating state, Medicaid may pay the nursing-home room and board that Medicare hospice does not. The hospice social worker can confirm this for your state and the patient's eligibility.

Practical next steps

• Confirm Part A and certification. The patient needs Medicare Part A, and the hospice must be Medicare-certified — every provider in this directory is.
• Ask for costs in writing for your specific living situation, including any drug copay or respite coinsurance and any room-and-board charge.
• Understand the timeline. Coverage continues as long as the patient meets criteria at each recertification — see how long you can stay on hospice.
• Compare providers. Read how to choose a hospice provider and compare Medicare-certified hospices in your area.

Bottom line: yes, Medicare covers hospice, and for most families covered services cost $0. The one expense to plan for is facility room and board, which the routine benefit does not pay — verify every dollar figure against current CMS before relying on it.