Questions people ask
Does Medicare cover hospice?
Yes. Original Medicare (Part A) covers hospice care related to the terminal illness once a hospice doctor and your doctor certify a life expectancy of six months or less if the illness runs its usual course, and you choose comfort care over treatment meant to cure. Most people pay nothing for the hospice care itself. Medicare does not pay room and board where you live.
Medically reviewed by Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director, October 12, 2026
On this page (14 sections)
- What Medicare pays and what you pay
- What does the Medicare hospice benefit cover?
- What does Medicare not cover on hospice?
- What Medicare hospice does not pay for
- Does Medicare pay 100% of hospice?
- What Medicare hospice pays and what you may pay
- How long does Medicare pay for hospice?
- What are the Medicare hospice benefit periods?
- Which part of Medicare pays for hospice: Part A, Part B or Part D?
- Does Medicare Advantage cover hospice?
- Does Medi-Cal cover hospice too?
- What this means for your family
- Related questions
- Read more
What Medicare pays and what you pay
| Item | What Medicare pays | What you pay |
|---|---|---|
| Hospice care: the nurse, doctor, aides, social worker and chaplain visits | In full, as part of the daily rate paid to the hospice | Nothing. There is no deductible and no bill per visit |
| Medicines for pain and symptom control | As part of the daily rate | Up to $5 per prescription |
| Medical equipment and supplies in the plan of care, such as a hospital bed, a wheelchair or oxygen | As part of the daily rate | Nothing |
| Room and board where you live | Not covered | The resident or family, long-term care insurance, or Medi-Cal for eligible nursing facility residents |
General information, not a benefits determination. We check your benefits and tell you your costs before care starts.
What does the Medicare hospice benefit cover?
The team's visits: the hospice nurse, the hospice doctor, hospice aides, the social worker and the chaplain. Medicines for pain and symptom control. Medical equipment such as a hospital bed, a wheelchair or oxygen, and supplies. Short-term inpatient care when a symptom cannot be controlled at home. Inpatient respite care for up to 5 days at a time so the family caregiver can rest. Grief support for the family for 13 months after the death.
The benefit is a bundle paid to the hospice for each day a person is enrolled, so the family is not billed per visit. What is covered follows the hospice plan of care, which the team writes with you.
What does Medicare not cover on hospice?
Treatment meant to cure the terminal illness, once you have chosen hospice. Room and board where you live, whether that is your own home, assisted living, a board-and-care home or a nursing facility. Care from a provider the hospice did not arrange or that duplicates what the hospice provides. Emergency room, ambulance or hospital care that the hospice did not arrange and that is not for a condition unrelated to the terminal illness.
Care for conditions unrelated to the terminal illness stays covered by your usual Medicare, with the usual deductibles and coinsurance.
What Medicare hospice does not pay for
| Not covered | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Room and board where you live | At home there is no room-and-board charge; assisted living, board-and-care and nursing-home charges continue. Medi-Cal may pay nursing-facility room and board for eligible residents. |
| 24-hour caregiving at home | Hospice visits; it does not place a caregiver in the home all day. Continuous home care exists for a short crisis only. |
| Long-term personal care | Help with bathing, dressing and meals beyond the aide visits in the plan of care is private pay, IHSS or family. |
| Treatment meant to cure the terminal illness | Stops when you elect hospice; you can revoke and return to it at any time. |
| Care the hospice did not arrange | A hospital, ER or ambulance visit the hospice did not arrange, for the terminal illness, may be billed to you. Call the hospice first, at any hour. |
| Care for unrelated conditions | Still covered by your usual Medicare, with the usual deductibles and coinsurance. |
General information, not a benefits determination. Ask us about any item before care starts.
Does Medicare pay 100% of hospice?
Nearly, for the hospice care itself. Under Medicare, most people pay nothing for hospice care. There can be a copay of up to $5 per prescription for symptom medicines and 5% of the Medicare amount for inpatient respite care.
Hospice is a bundled benefit. Medicare pays the hospice a set daily rate, and from that rate the hospice provides the team's visits, medicines for the terminal illness, and the equipment and supplies in the plan of care. Families are not billed that rate, and there is no deductible for hospice care under Medicare.
The two small cost shares are in 42 CFR 418.400: up to $5 per prescription for outpatient symptom medicines, and 5% of the Medicare amount for each day of inpatient respite care. The 5% respite share is capped: in any one hospice coinsurance period it can never add up to more than the Medicare Part A inpatient deductible, which is $1,736 in 2026. We tell you the respite amount before a stay.
What Medicare hospice pays and what you may pay
| Item | What Medicare pays | What you may pay |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing visits, the hospice doctor, aides, social work, spiritual care | In full, as part of the daily rate | Nothing |
| Medicines for pain and symptom control | As part of the daily rate | Up to $5 per prescription |
| Inpatient respite care, up to 5 days at a time | 95% of the Medicare amount | 5% of the Medicare amount for each respite day |
| Room and board where you live | Not covered | The resident or family, long-term care insurance, or Medi-Cal for eligible nursing facility residents |
General information, not a benefits determination. We check your benefits and tell you your costs before care starts.
How long does Medicare pay for hospice?
For as long as the person remains eligible. The benefit runs in periods: two 90-day periods, then an unlimited number of 60-day periods. At the start of each period the hospice doctor recertifies that the person is still expected to have six months or less to live if the illness runs its usual course. You can stop hospice at any time and return to your usual Medicare coverage, and you can start again later if you still qualify.
What are the Medicare hospice benefit periods?
Benefit periods renew for as long as the person remains eligible; there is no lifetime limit. Each one starts with a recertification.
| Period | Length | What is needed |
|---|---|---|
| First | 90 days | Certification by the hospice doctor and the person's own doctor, if they have one. |
| Second | 90 days | Recertification by the hospice doctor. |
| Third and every later period | 60 days each, without limit | Recertification by the hospice doctor, after a face-to-face visit by a hospice doctor or nurse practitioner. |
The dates for each period are worked out on benefit periods and the face-to-face visit.
Which part of Medicare pays for hospice: Part A, Part B or Part D?
Hospice is a Part A benefit. Part B keeps paying for care unrelated to the terminal illness, and for your attending doctor's visits when that doctor is not employed by the hospice. Part D keeps paying for medicines unrelated to the terminal illness; medicines for the terminal illness come from the hospice. A Medigap policy keeps paying its share of those unrelated costs, and most Medigap plans also pay all or part of the two hospice copays: the drug copay and the 5% respite share.
Does Medicare Advantage cover hospice?
If you have a Medicare Advantage plan, once hospice is elected it is paid by Original Medicare, not by the plan. You can keep the plan for its extra benefits and for care unrelated to the terminal illness. You do not need the plan's permission to choose a Medicare-certified hospice.
Does Medi-Cal cover hospice too?
Yes. For people with both Medicare and Medi-Cal, Medicare pays for hospice first, and Medi-Cal may cover nursing facility room and board for eligible residents. See Medi-Cal and hospice.
What this means for your family
The costs that surprise families are not hospice costs. They are room and board where the person lives, and hired caregivers, because hospice does not provide a caregiver in the home all day. Ask about both early.
Related questions
Who certifies that someone qualifies for hospice under Medicare?
The hospice doctor and the person's own doctor, if they have one, each certify that the person is expected to have six months or less to live if the illness runs its usual course. For later benefit periods the hospice doctor recertifies. The person or their representative then signs an election form choosing hospice care.
Can you get hospice without Medicare?
Yes. Medi-Cal covers hospice with the same rules, and most private insurance and Medicare Advantage plans do too. If there is no coverage at all, call us before deciding it is out of reach: many people with a terminal illness and limited income can get Medi-Cal, and our social worker can help start an application.
Is there a deductible for hospice under Medicare?
No. There is no deductible for hospice care under Medicare, and no bill per visit. Conditions unrelated to the terminal illness keep the usual deductibles and coinsurance.
Does Medicare pay for a nursing home while someone is on hospice?
No. The hospice benefit does not pay room and board in a nursing facility, assisted living or board-and-care home. Medi-Cal may cover nursing facility room and board for eligible residents. Hospice care itself is still covered there.
Does Medi-Cal cover hospice?
Yes. Medi-Cal covers hospice with the same rules as Medicare. For people with both, Medicare pays for hospice first, and Medi-Cal may cover nursing facility room and board for eligible residents. Read Medi-Cal and hospice.
Read more
The fuller pages: paying for care and Medi-Cal and hospice.
About this page
- Written by
- Beta Hospice care team
- Medically reviewed by
- Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director
- Last reviewed
- October 12, 2026
- Next review
- April 12, 2027
How we write and review this site
Sources
- Medicare.gov: Hospice care coverage (opens in a new tab)
- 42 CFR 418.400: Individual liability for coinsurance for hospice care (opens in a new tab)
- California DHCS: Hospice care (opens in a new tab)
- 42 CFR 418.21: Duration of hospice care coverage (opens in a new tab)
- 42 CFR 418.22: Certification of terminal illness (opens in a new tab)
- CMS: 2026 Medicare Parts A and B premiums and deductibles (Part A deductible $1,736) (opens in a new tab)
These sources support the general information on this page. For one person鈥檚 care and coverage, talk with the hospice team.
You do not have to decide alone.
Call (877) 258-7129 any time, or leave your number and someone from Beta's hospice team will call you. No decision is needed to call. Most families start with a question.
Only a hospice doctor, together with the person鈥檚 own doctor, can confirm hospice eligibility. A website cannot.
- A nurse answers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
- You can stop hospice at any time
- You have the right to choose your hospice