Does Medicare Cover Hospice

Does Medicare Cover Hospice ?

How to Qualify for Hospice Care:

Your clients qualify for hospice care if they have Medicare Part A and meet the following conditions:

• A hospice doctor (and regular doctor if applicable) certifies that they are terminally ill (defined as a life expectancy of 6 months or less).

• They accept comfort care (palliative care) instead of continuing to try to cure the illness.

• They sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of other Medicare-covered treatments for the terminal illness and related conditions.

Your clients can usually get Medicare-certified hospice care in their home or other live-in facility like a nursing home. They can also get hospice care in an inpatient hospice facility.

What is Hospice Care:

Depending on the terminal illness and related conditions, a hospice team will create a plan of care that can include any/all of these services:

• Doctors’ services.

• Nursing and medical services.

• Equipment for pain relief and symptom management.

• Medical supplies.

• Drugs for pain and symptom management.

• Aide and homemaker services.

• Physical therapy services.

• Occupational therapy services.

• Speech-language pathology services.

• Social services.

• Dietary counseling.

• Spiritual and grief counseling for you and your family.

• Short-term inpatient care for pain and symptom management.

• Inpatient respite care, which is care provided in a Medicare-approved facility (like an inpatient facility, hospital, or nursing home), so that the usual caregiver can rest.

• Any other services Medicare covers as the hospice team recommends.

What it Costs in Medicare:

• Clients pay nothing for hospice care.

• Clients pay a copayment of up to $5 for each prescription for outpatient drugs for pain and symptom management. In the case the hospice benefit doesn’t cover a drug, the client’s hospice provider should contact the Medicare plan to see if Part D covers it.

• The client may have to pay for board if they live in a facility and choose to get hospice care.

• To learn more about what is covered under Hospice Care, visit Hospice Care Coverage.

Find out what Medicare covers

Click  here to learn 5 things Medicare does not cover.

If you would like more information on Medicare enrollment, you can find it at Medicare.gov.

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