Who Pays for Hospice Room and Board?

Medicare covers the hospice care itself. Room and board is the gap families have to plan for.

Medicare's hospice benefit covers the hospice team, comfort medications, and equipment — but it does not cover room and board when hospice is provided in an assisted living or nursing facility. That daily room-and-board cost falls to the family, unless another source covers it: Medicaid (in many states), long-term care insurance, VA benefits, or private funds. Hospice at home has little or no room-and-board cost.

What Medicare hospice does cover

The hospice team (nurses, aides, social worker, chaplain), medications for comfort, medical equipment, and short-term inpatient or respite care — all covered by Medicare Part A with little to no cost to the family. What it doesn't cover is the rent: room and board in a facility where the person lives.

Who covers room and board

At home: no room-and-board charge — the most common setting. Nursing home: Medicaid often pays room and board once the person qualifies. Assisted living / memory care: usually private pay, long-term care insurance, or VA Aid & Attendance. Some hospices have charitable funds for short inpatient stays.

How families actually cover the gap

Most combine sources: VA benefits for veterans, a long-term care policy if one exists, home equity, or selling a life insurance policy that's no longer affordable. The order you use them in matters — which is exactly what a funding plan sorts out.

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Common questions

Does Medicare pay for a nursing home under hospice?

Medicare pays the hospice services, not the nursing home's room and board. Medicaid may cover the room and board if the person qualifies.

Is hospice at home free?

The hospice care is covered by Medicare; at home there's generally no room-and-board cost, though families still handle daily living expenses.