Questions to ask a hospice before you choose
Hospices must meet the same Medicare rules, but they work in different ways. These questions help you hear how a hospice will care for your family, and each one ties to what Medicare requires.
Checked against Medicare.gov, CMS and the federal rules on October 20, 2026. General information, not medical or legal advice.
Help at night and on weekends
Nursing, doctor services and drugs must be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Ask: who answers the phone after hours, and how soon can a nurse come to the home?
Source: [1]
The care team
Every hospice has an interdisciplinary team with at least a doctor, a registered nurse, a social worker or counselor, and a pastoral or other counselor. Ask: who will visit, how often, and who is the one person we call with questions?
Source: [2]
Inpatient and respite care
Hospices must arrange short-term inpatient care for pain and symptoms, and respite stays for caregivers, in a facility that meets Medicare's standards. Ask: where would my family member go, and how do you decide when it is needed?
Source: [3]
Grief support and volunteers
Hospices must offer bereavement services to the family for up to 1 year after the death. Volunteers must give care or office help equal to at least 5% of paid staff's patient care hours. Ask: what support do you offer the family after a death, and what do volunteers do here?
What the hospice will not cover
You can ask the hospice for a list of items, services and drugs it has decided are not related to the terminal illness, with the reasons. For hospice elections that begin on or after October 1, 2026, the hospice must give this list in writing as an addendum to the election statement. Ask: which of my family member's current drugs and supplies will you cover?
Results on Medicare's Care Compare
Medicare publishes family survey results and quality measures for each hospice. Look at them, then ask the hospice about any result that worries you. Our guide to reading CMS hospice ratings explains what each number means.
Source: [8]
Common questions
What should I ask a hospice on the first call?
Ask who answers after hours, who will visit and how often, where inpatient or respite care would happen, what grief support the family gets, and which current drugs and supplies the hospice will cover.
Do all Medicare hospices offer the same services?
All must meet the same Medicare rules and cover the same kinds of services. How they staff, schedule and respond can differ, which is why the questions help.
Sources
- 42 CFR 418.100: Organization and administration of services (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- 42 CFR 418.56: Interdisciplinary group, care planning, and coordination of services (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- 42 CFR 418.108: Short-term inpatient care (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- 42 CFR 418.64: Core services (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- 42 CFR 418.78: Volunteers (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- 42 CFR 418.24: Election of hospice care (eCFR (42 CFR Part 418))
- Medicare Hospice Benefits (publication 02154) (Medicare.gov)
- Care Compare: find and compare hospices (Medicare.gov)
Find a hospice near you
See Medicare’s family survey results for hospices near a home address.