Who pays for hospice care?

Once you’ve learned that hospice care is the philosophy of care that focuses on comfort, pain and symptom management for patients with a terminal illness, the next question you have may be, “Who pays for hospice care?” It’s understandable, as we are used to the healthcare system having hidden costs.

Hospice care is one of the few healthcare situations where Medicare and most major insurers completely cover the costs of the care itself. This may change in a few years, as Medicare rules evolve, but right now, Medicare, the Veteran’s Administration and most major insurers all pay 100% for hospice care benefits.

What is not covered by hospice care benefits?

As we say, all the costs related to hospice care itself are usually covered 100%. However, there are some important things to note.

• Other conditions — Say you have glasses or another illness that is not related to your terminal diagnosis, such as eczema. Medicines, doctor visits or other costs related to that would NOT be covered by an insurance company’s hospice care benefit. You would be responsible for those costs.
• Palliative care — While hospice does incorporate palliative (or comfort) care into its regimen, palliative care on its own, if a patient is not eligible for hospice (read here for what it means to be eligible for hospice), palliative care is not necessarily covered. While we offer palliative care outside of hospice services, those may not be covered and you should speak to one of our team members or your insurance company to determine if it is covered for you.
• Complementary therapies — Massage, music, physical and pet therapy all help alleviate pain and emotional suffering, as well as relax patients. These types of therapies are not covered. At ProCare Hospice, we rely on donations from our Foundation to provide these services for those in our care.
• Non-medical costs — If you have to use an oxygen machine at home, insurance does not cover increased electric bills. It does, however, cover the cost of the machine rental, as well as equipment like hospital beds, etc.

 If you have any questions about what is covered or not, call us at 702-380-8300 and we are happy to figure things out with you.

What insurances does ProCare Hospice take?

Please check the list below. If you don’t see the name of your insurance, call us. Many insurers are part of larger insurance groups. We also can check exactly what hospice care benefits your insurance provides:

• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Aetna
• Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield
• Cigna
• Health Plan of Nevada
• Healthscope
• Hometown Health
• Prominence
• Sierra Health & Life
• Tricare/Tricare West
• UMR
• United Healthcare
• Veterans Health Administration

What if I am a veteran?

All enrolled veterans are covered as part of the VHA Standard Medical Benefits Package. If you are not already enrolled with the VA, let us know and we are happy to help guide you.

What if I am eligible for hospice but don’t have Medicare or Medicaid insurance and am not a veteran?

ProCare Hospice is family-owned and operated. We celebrate families of all kinds. We believe that every member of every family deserves dignity and comfort at the end of life. We created our ProCare Foundation to make sure that a patient or family in need is able to be cared for the way they deserve.

Our Foundation makes it possible for us to treat anyone who is eligible for hospice, but may not have insurance or the means to pay. It also allows us to provide complementary therapies, and assist families who lose work in order to be a caregiver for a patient. It helps with common but often unforeseen consequences of hospice care such as high utility bills due to equipment in the home.

We believe in hospice care for all who need it. Our Foundation works each day to raise money and awareness so that everyone in our community has access to hospice care. Visit our Foundation page to learn more.

We know insurance and financial issues can be complicated. At the end of life, a patient and their loved ones should never have to worry about money. The ProCare Hospice family makes sure they are able to enjoy their time together, filling those final days with love and memories.