Does Medicare Cover Palliative Care?

Yes, Medicare pays for palliative care, mostly through doctor and nurse practitioner visits. It's care for comfort and quality of life during a serious illness, like heart failure, lung disease, cancer or dementia. If an illness is getting harder to manage at home, you don't have to wait for hospice to get help. Hospice is a separate Medicare benefit for the last months of life.

If you or someone you love is in crisis, call or text 988, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or chat at 988lifeline.org. If there is immediate danger, call 911.

Medicare pays if

• You have a serious illness and see a doctor or nurse practitioner who takes Medicare.
• For hospice, your doctor and the hospice doctor say you likely have 6 months or less to live.
• For hospice, you choose comfort care instead of treatment to cure your illness.

Not sure which one fits? Ask anyway, because your doctor can tell you if either could help. Or a Pair Team advocate can help you find a team.

Palliative care and hospice side by side

How does Medicare pay for palliative care?

Medicare and Medicaid usually cover most palliative care, the National Institute on Aging says. What you pay depends on the service:

• Doctor and nurse practitioner visits: Part B, and you pay 20% after the $283 deductible.
• A hospital stay: hospital insurance (Part A), with a $1,736 deductible in 2026.
• Nurse visits at home, if leaving home is hard: home health care, at $0.
• Planning for future care: $0 at your yearly wellness visit, or 20% as part of other visits.
• Drugs for your symptoms: your drug plan (Part D).
• Counseling for you or your caregiver: see therapy and counseling.

What does hospice cover, and what do I pay?

Once you choose hospice, Medicare.gov says, the benefit should cover everything you need for your illness. That can include nurses, doctors, aides and homemakers, equipment and supplies, and drugs for pain and symptoms. It can also include therapy, a social worker, and spiritual and grief counseling for you and your family. Short hospital stays for pain or symptoms are covered. So is respite care, up to 5 days at a time, so your caregiver can rest.

What you pay:

• $0 for hospice care from a Medicare-approved hospice.
• Up to $5 for each prescription for pain and symptom drugs.
• 5% of the cost of respite care, never more than the $1,736 hospital deductible in 2026.
• Room and board, if you live in a nursing home or other facility.

Hospice does not pay for treatment meant to cure your illness, or for care the hospice team didn't set up. Call your hospice team before an emergency room visit or an ambulance ride. If you don't, you might pay the whole cost.

How long can I get hospice?

You can get hospice as long as you still qualify. Medicare pays for two 90-day periods, then any number of 60-day periods. You can change hospices once in each period.

If the hospice says you no longer qualify, you should get a notice at least 2 days before care ends. To ask for a fast appeal, call the number on it by noon the day before. See how to appeal a Medicare denial.

Hospice with a Medicare Advantage plan

Original Medicare pays for your hospice care even if you stay in your plan, Medicare.gov says. Your plan must help you find a Medicare-approved hospice. It still covers care not related to your illness, and extras like dental or vision if you keep paying for the plan. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ended a test that let some plans run hospice themselves on December 31, 2024. In 2026, every plan works this way.

How to get palliative care or hospice

1. Ask your doctor for a palliative care referral. Say what bothers you most and talk about your treatment choices.
2. Write down your wishes. Ask about advance care planning at your yearly wellness visit. You can name a health care proxy, a person who decides for you if you can't.
3. Compare hospices on Care Compare at medicare.gov/care-compare by entering your ZIP code.
4. Sign the election statement when you choose hospice, and keep a copy.
5. Ask for the list of what hospice won't cover. The hospice must give it to you within 3 to 5 days of your request.

What a Pair Team advocate does

Families often call us when no one has laid out the choices. This is what we do:

• Help you ask your doctor for a palliative care referral, and find a team near you.
• Help you get ready to talk with your doctor about your wishes, and fill out an advance directive.
• Look up hospices on Care Compare with you, and call to see who can start.
• Help with rides, meals, equipment, caregiver support and paperwork. Our behavioral health team can help with the stress too.

An advocate is covered by Medicare if you qualify. It takes two minutes to find out.

Check if you qualify for a Pair Team advocate

Frequently asked questions

Can I keep my own doctor in hospice?

Yes, you can choose your regular doctor or nurse practitioner as the attending doctor who helps oversee your hospice care.

Who pays for drugs that are not for my illness?

Your drug plan (Part D) may cover drugs that aren't for your illness. Hospice pays for drugs for pain and symptoms tied to your illness.

What if I get better in hospice?

You can stop hospice at any time, and your regular Medicare coverage starts again. No one should ask you to sign a form to stop hospice on the day you start.

Is palliative care the same as comfort care?

In hospice, Medicare.gov uses palliative care and comfort care to mean the same thing. Outside hospice, palliative care can go along with treatment meant to cure.

Does Medicare pay for palliative care for dementia?

Yes, Medicare covers palliative care for dementia the same way as for other illnesses. See what Medicare covers for dementia care.

Sources

• Hospice care, Medicare.gov
• Doctor and other health care provider services, Medicare.gov
• Advance care planning, Medicare.gov
• Find and compare hospices, Medicare.gov Care Compare
• Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model, CMS
• 2026 Medicare Parts A and B Premiums and Deductibles, CMS
• Fast appeals, Medicare.gov
• What Are Palliative Care and Hospice Care?, National Institute on Aging
• Frequently Asked Questions About Palliative Care, National Institute on Aging
• Palliative Care FAQ, Center to Advance Palliative Care
• Hospice basics, Medicare Interactive
• 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline