Resources for families
How to choose a hospice provider
You have the right to choose your hospice provider, and the hospital or doctor's suggestion is only a suggestion. To compare, check that each hospice is licensed and Medicare certified, look it up on Medicare Care Compare, and ask every hospice the same questions about nights and weekends, the care team, symptom crises and costs. Walk away from anyone who offers gifts or pushes you to sign quickly.
Medically reviewed by Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director, September 24, 2026
On this page (10 sections)
- How do you compare hospices?
- What questions should you ask a hospice?
- Compare hospices side by side
- How many hospices serve your area?
- How should you use Medicare Care Compare?
- Does it matter if a hospice is for-profit or nonprofit?
- What are the red flags of hospice fraud?
- Protect yourself from hospice fraud
- Related guides
- Common questions about choosing a hospice
How do you compare hospices?
To compare hospices, make a short list, verify each one's license and Medicare certification, look at Care Compare, call each one with the same questions, and then decide, knowing you can change.
- Step 1
Make a short list
Ask the doctor, hospital case manager, friends and your faith community for names. Add any hospice you have heard of that serves your city. Two or three is enough.
- Step 2
Verify each one
Check the state license and Medicare certification yourself. It takes a few minutes. The two-minute check links any California hospice to its own Medicare and state records, and how to verify a hospice walks through every lookup.
- Step 3
Look at Care Compare
Read what Medicare publishes about each hospice, and know its limits. See the section below.
- Step 4
Call and ask the same questions
Use the list on this page. Notice how the call feels. Are answers clear? Does anyone rush you?
- Step 5
Decide, and know you can change
Pick the hospice whose answers fit your situation. Nothing about the choice is permanent.
What questions should you ask a hospice?
Ask every hospice about its license and Medicare certification, who answers at night, the care team and visit schedule, symptom crises and respite, costs, languages, grief support, and how to complain. Print this list and use it with every hospice you call, including us. Good hospices welcome these questions.
- Are you licensed by the California Department of Public Health and certified by Medicare? What is your Medicare provider number so I can look you up?
- Do you serve my city, and how far away is your office and your on-call nurse?
- Who answers the phone at 2 am: a hospice nurse or an answering service? If I need a visit at night, who comes?
- Who will be on our team, and will we see the same nurse most of the time?
- How often does the team usually visit, and how does that change as needs change?
- How soon after we say yes can care begin, and when do equipment and medicines arrive?
- If symptoms get out of control, what can you do at home, and where do you provide short-term inpatient care?
- Do you offer respite care so the caregiver can rest? Where?
- Can we keep our own doctor involved?
- Do you have experience with this illness? What about this facility, if the person lives in one?
- What will we pay for, if anything? What is not covered?
- What languages does your staff speak?
- What grief support do you offer the family afterward, and for how long?
- Who owns the hospice, and how long has it been serving this area?
- How do I make a complaint, and what happens if we want to change hospices?
Compare hospices side by side
Print this and fill in one column per hospice as you call. Answers that are vague, or a call that feels rushed, are answers too.
| What to compare | Hospice 1 | Hospice 2 | Hospice 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Licence and Medicare number checked | |||
| Who answers at 2 am, and who comes if a visit is needed | |||
| Main nurse, and how often the team visits | |||
| How soon care can start; when equipment and medicines arrive | |||
| Where short-term inpatient and respite care happen | |||
| Languages the staff speak | |||
| Grief support for the family, and for how long | |||
| How the call felt: clear answers, or pressure to sign |
How many hospices serve your area?
More than most families expect. Medicare lists 153 certified hospices in San Bernardino County, 67 in Riverside County and 1,160 in Los Angeles County. You do not need to call them all. Two or three that serve your city and pass the checks above is enough. The counts by county, with their sources, are on how many hospices are in the Inland Empire.
How should you use Medicare Care Compare?
Care Compare is Medicare's public lookup tool at medicare.gov/care-compare. Search for hospices by ZIP code or name. It is the most reliable public source, and it has real limits.
| What it shows | What it does not show |
|---|---|
| That the hospice is Medicare certified, with its certification date and ownership type | Whether the California license is current. Check that with the state. |
| Results of a family survey sent after a death, and a star rating based on that survey | Stars for every hospice. Small or newer hospices often have too few returned surveys, so the rating shows as not available. That is not a bad mark by itself. |
| Quality measures taken from patient records, such as whether pain and breathing were assessed | How the hospice will treat your family this month. The data is often a year or more old. |
| Whether the hospice cares for people at home, in nursing homes or in assisted living | Staffing levels, night response or which nurse you will have. Ask those directly. |
Use Care Compare to confirm and compare, then rely on your own calls. See our Medicare quality information on Care Compare from the how to verify a hospice page.
Does it matter if a hospice is for-profit or nonprofit?
A hospice's ownership type alone does not tell you how good the care will be. Hospices can be for-profit companies, nonprofit organizations or government programs. In California most are for-profit, and many are small. Care Compare lists the ownership type of each one.
All Medicare-certified hospices must follow the same federal rules, provide the same required services and are paid by Medicare under the same rate system. There are strong and weak hospices of every type. Ask who owns the hospice, how long it has served your area and who the medical director is, and weigh the answers along with everything else.
What are the red flags of hospice fraud?
Red flags of hospice fraud include gifts or cash offered for signing up, approaches you did not ask for, requests for your Medicare number, and pressure to sign the same day. California has seen serious hospice fraud. The FBI, the California Attorney General and Medicare have all warned consumers. Be careful if anyone:
- Offers gifts, cash, groceries, gift cards or household help in exchange for signing up for hospice
- Comes to your door, calls or approaches you in a store or clinic when you did not ask for information
- Asks for your Medicare number before you have decided anything, or as part of a survey or giveaway
- Says hospice is a home helper program or an extra benefit, and does not explain that it is for people with a terminal illness
- Pushes you to sign papers the same day, or will not leave copies of what you signed
- Does not explain that choosing hospice changes how Medicare pays for treatment of the terminal illness
- Promises results, a set number of visits, or things that sound too good to be true
If you find out you were signed up for hospice without understanding it, call 1-800-MEDICARE right away. You can also review your Medicare statements for hospice charges you do not recognize.
Protect yourself from hospice fraud
We will never ask for your Medicare number on this website or in an unsolicited call. No legitimate hospice offers gifts, cash or groceries for signing up. You can check any hospice, including us, on Medicare Care Compare (opens in a new tab) and CDPH Cal Health Find (opens in a new tab).
- Medicare: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
- Senior Medicare Patrol: 855-613-7080
- California Department of Justice, Medi-Cal fraud: 800-722-0432
- DHCS Medi-Cal fraud hotline: 800-822-6222
Related guides
What hospice won't tell you and culturally competent hospice care.
Common questions about choosing a hospice
Which hospice offers the best care?
No website can answer that honestly, including this one. The right hospice for you is one that is licensed and certified, serves your area, answers your questions clearly and responds when you call at night. Verify, read Care Compare, ask the questions above and compare the answers.
How do I choose a hospice team?
You choose the hospice, and the hospice puts together the team: a nurse, a hospice aide, a social worker, a chaplain if you want one, a doctor and volunteers. Ask who your main nurse will be and how often the team visits. If a team member is not a good fit, tell the hospice and ask for a change.
Do I have to use the hospice the hospital recommends?
No. Hospitals and doctors may suggest hospices, but the choice is yours. Tell the case manager which hospice you want and they will send the referral.
Are all hospices the same?
The required services are the same under Medicare rules. How well they are delivered is not. Differences show up in night and weekend response, staff turnover, experience with your illness and how well the team communicates.
Does the choice of hospice change what I pay?
Under Medicare, no. Medicare covers hospice care related to the terminal illness. Under Medicare, most people pay nothing for hospice care itself. With private insurance, ask whether the hospice is in your plan's network. See paying for care.
What if we choose and then regret it?
You can change hospices once in each benefit period, and you can stop hospice at any time. See switching hospice providers.
We are not sure it is time. Should we still call?
Yes, if you have questions. A call is only a conversation. See is it time for hospice? for signs to discuss with a doctor or nurse.
About this page
- Written by
- Beta Hospice care team
- Medically reviewed by
- Oscar Chien, MD, Medical Director
- Last reviewed
- September 24, 2026
- Next review
- March 24, 2027
How we write and review this site
Sources
- Medicare.gov: Care Compare (opens in a new tab)
- Medicare.gov: Hospice care coverage (opens in a new tab)
- California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General: consumer information (opens in a new tab)
- FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center: public service announcements (opens in a new tab)
- Senior Medicare Patrol (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