American Hospice Foundation, Washington DC, USA

To qualify for Medicare (Part A – Hospital Insurance), a person must:

• Be 65 and over, or
• Be totally disabled for at least two years, or
• Have end-stage renal disease (complete kidney failure).

To be eligible for Medicare Hospice Benefit, a person must:

• Be enrolled in the Medicare Part A (see above), and
• Have a doctor and the hospice medical director certify that they are terminally ill and probably have less than six months to live, and
• Sign a statement choosing hospice care instead of routine Medicare covered benefits for their terminal illness, and
• Receive care from a Medicare-approved hospice program.

Once a person signs up for the Medicare Hospice Benefit:

• Medicare will continue to pay for covered benefits for any health problems that are NOT related to the terminal illness.
• Medicare will not pay for treatments and medications to cure the terminal illness.
• Medicare will not pay for medical care or services that are not arranged by the hospice.

Individuals who sign up for the Medicare Hospice Benefit always have the right to stop hospice care at any time and get the Medicare coverage they had before they chose to receive hospice care.