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What the hospice benefit covers

The Medicare hospice benefit covers hospice care in full for a person a doctor certifies as likely to have six months or less to live: nursing visits, aide help, social work, spiritual care, medications and equipment related to the terminal illness, respite stays and bereavement support for the family, almost always at home or in a nursing home. The person can leave hospice and return to curative treatment at any time. Ask any hospice how often a nurse visits, what the overnight on-call response is, and whether it has an inpatient unit.