How Hospice Works

Your doctor and the hospice medical team will work with you and your family to set up a plan of care that meets your needs. Your plan of care includes hospice services that Medicare covers. For more specific information on a hospice plan of care, call your state or national hospice organization. See pages 10 and 14–15.

If you qualify for hospice care, you will have a specially trained medical team and support staff available to help you and your family cope with your illness.

You and your family members are the most important part of the team. Your team may also include some or all of the following people:

Doctors
Nurses
Counselors
A social worker
Speech-language pathologists
Hospice aides
Homemakers
Volunteers

In addition, a hospice nurse and doctor are on-call 24 hours a day,
7 days a week to give you and your family support and care when you need it.
Although a hospice doctor is part of the medical team, your regular doctor can also be part of this team as the attending care professional. If you choose, a nurse practitioner may serve as your attending care professional. However, only your regular doctor (not a nurse practitioner that you have chosen to serve as your attending care professional) and the hospice medical director can certify that you’re terminally ill and have 6 months or less to live.

The hospice benefit allows you and your family to stay together in the comfort of your home. If the hospice team determines that you need care in an inpatient facility, the hospice medical team will make the arrangements for your stay.