Who pays for hospice care?

Medicare  (May stay in Medicare Advantage Plan- see below**)
Hospice care is a covered benefit under Medicare for patients with a prognosis of six months or less. A patient can remain in hospice care beyond six months if a physician re-certifies that the patient is terminally ill.
This benefit covers all services, medications and equipment related to the illness.
 
These include:

Physician services
Nursing services
Home health aides
Medical appliances, medication, and supplies
Spiritual, dietary, and other counseling
Continuous home-care or inpatient care during crisis periods
Trained volunteers
Bereavement services
Social work services
Inpatient Respite
24/7 On-call Support

**Note:� A patient can be on a Medicare Advantage Plan and Hospice.� Medicare is financially responsible for Hospice related care and the Medicare Advantage Plan is responsible for all covered non-Hospice related care.