Hospice Care

In the event that a person with Medicare should require hospice care, Medicare Part A provides coverage for medical and support services from a Medicare-approved hospice.

Coverage

Once a person qualifies, Medicare helps cover hospice care provided in the home, including:

• Doctor services
• Nursing care
• Medical equipment (e.g., wheelchairs, walkers)
• Medical supplies (e.g., bandages, catheters)
• Drugs for symptom control and pain relief
• Short-term hospital and inpatient respite care
• Home health aide and homemaker services

• Physical and occupational therapy
• Speech therapy
• Social worker services
• Dietary counseling
  
• Counseling to help the person with Medicare and his or her family deal with grief and loss

Eligibility

A person with Medicare can receive hospice care as long as a doctor certifies that he or she is terminally ill and probably has less than 6 months to live. Care is given in "periods of care," two 90-day periods followed by unlimited 60-day periods. In order for the person to continue receiving hospice care, a doctor must certify at the start of each period of care that the person is terminally ill. The decision to enter the hospice program can be reversed at any time.

Payment

A person with Medicare who qualifies for hospice care pays a copayment of up to $5 for outpatient prescription drugs. If the person receives inpatient respite care, he or she pays 5% of the Medicare-approved amount. Respite care is short-term care given to a hospice patient by another caregiver so that the usual caregiver can rest.

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