Question 1

Can I get palliative care if I'm not dying?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Palliative care is for anyone with a serious illness — heart failure, COPD, cancer, kidney disease, advanced dementia — at any stage. You can be getting full curative treatment and have a palliative-care team helping with symptoms, side effects, and decisions.

Question 2

Does Medicare cover both?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in different ways. Hospice is covered 100% under Medicare's Hospice Benefit — no copay, no deductible. Palliative care is covered under regular Medicare Part B like any specialist visit, with the usual copays.

Question 3

Can I keep my own doctor on hospice?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your attending physician stays involved. Our medical director coordinates with them and with the team. You don't give up your relationships.

Question 4

Can I leave hospice if I get better or change my mind?

Accepted Answer

Yes. You can revoke hospice at any time, for any reason — no penalty, no waiting period. If your condition improves, you can leave. If you change your mind about treatment, you can leave. You can also re-enroll later if eligibility returns.

Question 5

Is this the same as 'comfort care'?

Accepted Answer

Hospice is comfort care — that's the central idea. But people sometimes say 'comfort care' to mean only the very end (last days or hours). Hospice is broader than that: it can run for months, with a real team helping you live as fully as possible for the time you have.

Question 6

Will I be sedated or unconscious on hospice?

Accepted Answer

No. The goal is comfort, not sedation. Most people on hospice are alert, present with family, and able to talk and eat as long as their body allows. Medications are calibrated to control pain and symptoms while keeping you yourself.

	Hospice	Palliative care
What it's for	Comfort-focused care at the end of life, when curative treatment is no longer the goal.	Comfort and symptom relief alongside any other treatment — curative or not.
Who qualifies	Adults with a life-limiting illness and a prognosis of 6 months or less if the illness runs its course.	Anyone living with a serious illness, at any stage. No prognosis required.
What you give up	You stop treatments aimed at curing the illness. You don't give up your doctor, your home, or anything else.	Nothing. You can keep every other treatment, including chemo, dialysis, surgery, or trials.
Who pays	Medicare's Hospice Benefit covers 100% — nursing, medications related to the illness, equipment, aide visits, chaplain, social work, and 13 months of bereavement care. Medicaid and most private plans mirror it.	Covered by Medicare Part B and most insurance like any other specialist visit. Copays may apply.
Where care happens	Wherever home is — a house, an assisted-living suite, a nursing facility. Inpatient when needed.	Usually in a clinic or hospital setting, sometimes at home. Less continuous than hospice.
Who comes to you	A whole team: nurse, aide, chaplain, social worker, medical director, volunteers — coordinated under one plan.	Usually a physician or nurse practitioner specialist, sometimes a small team.
How often	Regular visits — multiple times a week, 24/7 nurse line, around-the-clock when needed.	Scheduled visits, less frequent. You call when something flares up.
How long	As long as eligibility continues. Many people stay on hospice for months. You can leave at any time.	As long as you want it. No time limit.

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