How to Find Hospice Care for a Parent

To find hospice care for a parent, begin with two steps: ask their physician for a free hospice evaluation, and compare the Medicare-certified hospices that serve your parent's area on published quality scores. You do not need to pre-qualify your parent yourself—eligibility is a doctor's judgment that the illness is likely terminal within six months if it runs its normal course.

Step 1: Talk with your parent's doctor

You can raise hospice with your parent's primary doctor or specialist at any time—you don't have to wait for them to bring it up. Ask directly: "Would my parent benefit from a hospice evaluation?" A hospice can also evaluate without a prior referral. For language that helps, see how to talk to a doctor about hospice and signs it may be time to consider hospice.

Step 2: Understand what you're choosing

Hospice is a Medicare benefit, not a place. Your parent can usually receive it at home, in assisted living, or in a nursing home. An interdisciplinary team—hospice physician, nurse, aide, social worker, chaplain, and volunteers—manages comfort and supports the whole family, including up to 13 months of bereavement support afterward. If your parent has Medicare, the benefit covers the team's services, drugs for the terminal diagnosis, and medical equipment; it does not cover facility room and board under Routine Home Care.

Step 3: Compare providers—don't just take the first referral

Hospital discharge planners often hand families a single name, but you have the right to choose any Medicare-certified hospice that serves your parent's area. Compare them on:

• CAHPS family-survey scores—how families rated communication, timeliness, and whether they would recommend the hospice. Learn to read them in how to read CAHPS scores.
• Quality measures and the Hospice Care Index, published on Medicare's official tool. See how to use Care Compare.
• After-hours support—how fast a nurse responds at night and how quickly they can escalate to inpatient care in a crisis.

Step 4: Ask the right questions

Before choosing, interview two or three hospices. Our full list is in 20 questions to ask before choosing a hospice, and a structured method is in how to choose a hospice provider.

Where your parent lives changes the search

Match the hospice to your parent's actual living situation, because the practical questions differ by setting:

• Living in their own home: ask who will provide the day-to-day hours, since hospice aide visits are intermittent, not 24-hour care. If your parent lives alone, ask specifically how the agency supports patients without a full-time caregiver — see can you be on hospice if you live alone.
• In a nursing home: confirm the hospice already serves that facility and coordinates with its staff — see coordinating hospice with a nursing home. Clarify who pays the room: hospice does not cover room and board, though Medicaid may cover the nursing-home bed for dual-eligible patients in participating states.
• In assisted living or memory care: the facility charges room and board separately; hospice layers its team on top. Confirm the agency knows the community's routines.
• Moving from the hospital: a hospice can meet your parent at home on discharge day — see moving a loved one into hospice from the hospital.

Long-distance: finding care for a parent in another city

Many adult children arrange hospice for a parent who lives hours away. You can do most of the work by phone: request the evaluation through the parent's local doctor or by calling hospices that serve the parent's address, compare them on Care Compare, and run the same questions by each. Ask each agency how they keep distant family informed — regular phone updates, a care portal, and a named point of contact make a real difference when you cannot be there daily. Consider naming a local relative, friend, or the named representative who can be present for the evaluation and admission. If you and your parent disagree about timing, treat it as a conversation about comfort and goals rather than a decision about dying; how to talk to a loved one about choosing hospice offers phrasing.

When siblings or family disagree

Decisions about a parent's care are rarely made by one person alone, and siblings often see things differently — one feels it is time for comfort care, another wants to keep pursuing treatment. This is normal and usually rooted in love and fear, not bad intentions. A few things help: center the conversation on what your parent would want and what brings them comfort, not on who is right; ask the parent's physician to explain the prognosis to the whole family at once so everyone hears the same information; and use the hospice social worker, who is experienced at facilitating exactly these discussions. If your parent is still able to express their wishes, their voice should lead. If a healthcare power of attorney or advance directive exists, it names who has authority and what your parent chose — see advance directives and hospice. Remember that hospice is reversible: if the family is divided, choosing comfort care now does not foreclose options, because a patient can leave hospice and resume treatment if circumstances change.

The misconception to correct

Many adult children believe choosing hospice means "giving up" on a parent, or that they must decide instantly under pressure. Neither is accurate. Hospice is active, expert comfort care—not the absence of care—and you are entitled to compare providers before signing anything. If your parent improves, they can be discharged and re-enroll later; if you're unhappy, you can switch hospices once per benefit period with no penalty.

If you and your parent disagree

Sometimes a parent isn't ready to hear the word "hospice." Approach it as a conversation about comfort and goals rather than a decision about dying. The guide how to talk to a loved one about choosing hospice offers concrete phrasing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I arrange hospice for a parent who can't make decisions?

Yes. If your parent cannot consent — for example, with advanced dementia — their authorized representative (usually a healthcare power of attorney or legal next of kin) signs the election statement. Bring that document to the evaluation.

Who pays for my parent's nursing-home room if they go on hospice?

Hospice does not cover room and board under Routine Home Care. The family or the resident pays privately, or Medicaid may cover the nursing-home bed for dual-eligible patients in participating states. Get the specifics in writing for your parent's facility and state.

Does my parent have to give up their own doctor?

Often no. In many cases a parent can keep their attending physician working alongside the hospice team. Ask each agency how they coordinate with your parent's doctor.

What if my parent gets better on hospice?

That is possible and welcome. If the prognosis no longer fits, your parent can be discharged and re-enroll later if the illness progresses again. Hospice is not a one-way door.

Practical next step

Make two calls today: one to your parent's doctor to request a hospice evaluation, and one to begin comparing providers. Compare hospices near you by name, city, and quality scores to build a short list before you commit.