Paying for Hospice
How to Pay
You are here: Paying For Hospice
Medicare Advantage Plans
- Medicare Advantage plans cover all services covered by original Medicare except for hospice
- When a Medicare Advantage member elects the Medicare hospice benefit, all Medicare covered services they receive while in hospice are covered by original Medicare.
- If the patient’s Medicare Advantage plan provides additional/extra services (i.e. dental) that are not covered by original Medicare, the plan continues to cover those services
If the patient chooses to stay in the - Medicare Advantage plan while receiving hospice care, the patient must continue to pay the plan’s monthly premium.
Your Medicare Benefits
Hospice is part of the Medicare Part A benefit
Medicare does cover:
Services provided by the interdisciplinary team
Services provided by the interdisciplinary team, which is made up of physicians, nurses, social workers, chaplains, nursing aides, volunteers and bereavement coordinators
Medical Equipment
(e.g., hospital beds, wheelchairs) and supplies related to the terminal illness
Medication
Medications for symptom control or pain relief
Therapy & Other Services
Dietary counseling, physical and occupational therapy, speech-language pathology service, other services needed to manage pain and other symptoms, and grief and loss support services for at least one year following the death of the patient, as recommended by the patient’s hospice care team, may be covered
Medicare does not cover:
Prescription drugs that are unrelated to the terminal illness or are not for symptom control or pain relief
Room and board, unless the patient is receiving short-term inpatient or respite care as arranged by the hospice care team
Care or treatments for the terminal illness that were not arranged by the hospice interdisciplinary team
Care or treatments for the terminal illness that were not arranged by the hospice interdisciplinary team
Room and board, unless the patient is receiving short-term inpatient or respite care as arranged by the hospice care team
Treatment intended to cure the terminal illness
Commercial insurance
- Hospice services may be covered by commercial insurance plans
- Commercial insurance providers may choose what services are part of the hospice benefit or may assign different time or total expenditure limitations for hospice services
Some plans permit hospice services for up to a year - Some plans limit the plan expense to a lifetime maximum
- Some plans authorize services based on specific diagnosis, treatments or other criteria
