For funeral homes
The hospice market in your area: how to read it
Medicare hospice care has grown a lot in ten years, and most of the growth came from for-profit hospices. Here are the national numbers from CMS data, and how to read your own market.
Checked against the sources listed below on October 20, 2026. General information, not legal advice. Rules differ by state; check yours.
Ten years of Medicare hospice patients
In 2014, 2,758 hospices reported Medicare patients to CMS, with 1,141,789 patients counted across them. In 2024, the latest year CMS has published, 5,359 hospices reported 1,815,402. That is 59% more patients and 94% more hospices. HospiceCompare analysis of CMS data.
| Year | Hospices reporting | Medicare patients |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 2,758 | 1,141,789 |
| 2015 | 2,892 | 1,207,565 |
| 2016 | 3,052 | 1,273,856 |
| 2017 | 3,234 | 1,356,027 |
| 2018 | 3,434 | 1,430,097 |
| 2019 | 3,606 | 1,498,692 |
| 2020 | 3,801 | 1,588,122 |
| 2021 | 4,088 | 1,663,219 |
| 2022 | 4,421 | 1,673,752 |
| 2023 | 4,880 | 1,715,574 |
| 2024 | 5,359 | 1,815,402 |
Patients are counted per hospice and added up, so a person cared for by two hospices in one year counts twice.
Source: [1]
Growth by ownership
Grouped by each hospice's ownership in today's CMS enrollment file, for-profit hospices cared for 91% more Medicare patients in 2024 than in 2014. Nonprofit hospices grew 26%, and government hospices 27%. For-profit hospices went from 48% of patients to 57%. HospiceCompare analysis of CMS data.
| Ownership | Hospices 2014 | Hospices 2024 | Patients 2014 | Patients 2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| For-profit | 1,644 | 4,061 | 542,503 | 1,038,612 | +91% |
| Nonprofit | 751 | 825 | 468,438 | 588,730 | +26% |
| Government | 97 | 104 | 15,259 | 19,339 | +27% |
| Other or not stated | 266 | 369 | 115,589 | 168,721 | +46% |
Ownership is today's, applied to every year, so a hospice that changed hands shows its current ownership throughout. See hospice ownership and chains.
New hospices are on hold for now
CMS imposed a six-month nationwide moratorium on the Medicare enrollment of new hospices, effective May 13, 2026. It can be extended in six-month steps. While it lasts, the hospices in your area are the ones already enrolled.
Source: [3]
How to read your own market
- Count the hospices with an office within a reasonable drive. Hospices care for people at home, often across several counties, so a hospice 30 miles away may serve your families.
- Look at Medicare patients per year. A hospice with 400 patients a year meets far more families than one with 40.
- Look at growth over three years. A growing hospice is often still building its local relationships.
- Look at ownership, so you know whether you are talking with a local nonprofit or one office of a larger company.
- Look at the family survey scores, as one input next to size and distance.
The hospice market tool does all of this for the ZIP code, city or address of your funeral home, with a map and a ranked list. The free partnership report puts it on paper.
Common questions
How many Medicare patients use hospice?
Hospices reported 1,815,402 Medicare patients to CMS for 2024, counted per hospice, up from 1,141,789 in 2014. HospiceCompare analysis of CMS data.
Are most hospices for-profit?
Yes. Of 5,689 hospices in the CMS enrollment file we loaded in October 2026, 4,350 (76%) are for-profit and 854 (15%) are nonprofit.
Can new hospices open right now?
CMS put a six-month nationwide moratorium on new hospice enrollment in Medicare, effective May 13, 2026. It can be extended.
Sources
- Medicare Post-Acute Care and Hospice: by Provider (CMS (data.cms.gov))
- Hospice Enrollments (CMS (data.cms.gov))
- Medicare Program; Implementation of a Nationwide Moratorium on the Medicare Enrollment of Hospices (May 15, 2026) (Federal Register)
See the hospices around your funeral home
Enter your ZIP code, city or address. The free market tool shows every Medicare hospice within 10, 25 or 50 miles on a map, who owns each one, how many Medicare patients it cared for, and which are growing. If you want it on paper, the partnership report is a free PDF; we ask only for an email address to send it.
Open the hospice market tool