# Medicare hospice benefit (United States)

Source: https://onco.cc/terms/medicare-hospice-benefit/  
OnCo record `medicare-hospice-benefit` (Term). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

In the US, Medicare pays for hospice care with nothing to pay for covered services when a doctor certifies a life expectancy of six months or less and the person chooses comfort care instead of treatment aimed at cure. Care can continue beyond six months if the doctor recertifies.

## Summary

Medicare Part A covers hospice when the hospice doctor and the person's regular doctor (if any) certify terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less, and the person accepts comfort (palliative) care instead of care to cure the terminal illness and signs a statement choosing hospice. Coverage runs for two 90-day benefit periods followed by an unlimited number of 60-day periods, with recertification after a face-to-face meeting. The person can change hospice provider once in each benefit period.

The person pays nothing for hospice care from a Medicare-approved provider, apart from a copayment of up to $5 per prescription for outpatient drugs for pain and symptoms and 5 per cent of the approved amount for inpatient respite care; room and board in a facility where the person lives may be charged. Once hospice starts, Medicare will not cover treatment intended to cure the terminal illness, but it still covers health problems unrelated to it.

## Fields

- Kind: Term
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Medicare hospice; hospice benefit
- Tags: supportive; us

## Sources

- Medicare.gov: hospice care: https://www.medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care

## Connected records

- technologies: [Hospice and end-of-life care](https://onco.cc/technologies/hospice-end-of-life/)
- terms: [End-of-life care at home (hospice at home)](https://onco.cc/terms/hospice-at-home/), [Hospice inpatient care and respite care](https://onco.cc/terms/hospice-inpatient-and-respite-care/)

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