Medicare will cover most hospice services at a nursing home through its Medicare hospice benefit, but understanding the full financial picture requires navigating several coverage categories. Before a nursing home resident can qualify, a doctor must certify that the resident has six months or less to live, though many people may continue receiving hospice for longer than six months.
What Medicare Covers
Medicare covers a broad range of hospice services including aide and homemaker services, dietary counseling, doctors’ services, medication for pain and symptom management, medical equipment, nursing services, occupational and physical therapy, short-term inpatient care for symptom management, social services, speech-language pathology services, and spiritual and grief counseling. Specialty chairs and mattresses are also commonly provided as part of daily rates. However, Medicare does not cover treatments intended to cure a resident’s underlying condition, nor does it generally cover room and board costs for residing in the facility.
Covering Room and Board
For nursing home housing costs while hospice services are provided, families are typically responsible. However, the hospice program may help subsidize room and board costs if the resident qualifies for an inpatient level of care requiring support such as intermittent treatments or bedside nursing. State Medicaid programs may also fund hospice, with coverage varying by state. Nursing home residents on Medicaid may be able to fund hospice through Medicaid if they specifically elect to do so by filling out a statement with their hospice.
Transition Considerations
A nursing home administrator emphasized that before a resident transitions to hospice, staff facilitates thoughtful conversations with nurses, doctors and family members. Signs that hospice care may be appropriate include terminal illness diagnosis, loss of appetite with significant weight loss, increased fatigue, loss of ability to swallow easily and an increase in difficult-to-treat symptoms for those with chronic conditions.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://wtop.com/news/2026/04/who-pays-for-hospice-care-in-a-nursing-home/