Questions to Ask a Hospice (Printable Checklist)

Here are twenty questions to ask any hospice before you choose, grouped by theme so you can compare providers side by side. Print this page or keep it open on your phone, ask each hospice the same questions, and note the answers. The best choice usually reveals itself — not from a single perfect answer, but from which hospice responds most clearly and calmly.

How to use this list

You don't need to ask all twenty. Pick the groups that matter most to your situation, ask each hospice the same set, and pay as much attention to how they answer as to what they say. Openness, patience, and specific answers are good signs. Pressure, vagueness, or reluctance to put things in writing are reasons to keep looking. If you'd like the reasoning behind these questions, our full guide on how to choose a hospice walks through each factor.

Coverage and getting started

Why this matters: A hospice's Medicare service area is the set of ZIP codes it covers, and it doesn't follow city lines. The most common mistake families make is calling a hospice that doesn't actually cover their address. Confirm coverage and timing first.

1. Do you serve our ZIP code and cover the place where my loved one lives (home, assisted living, or nursing facility)?
2. How soon can care begin — today, tomorrow, this weekend?
3. Are you Medicare-certified? (Every hospice in our directory is; confirm directly for any you find elsewhere.)
4. Who handles the admission paperwork, and what do we need to have ready?

The care team and visits

Why this matters: You'll spend the most time with the visiting team. Consistency and clear expectations make everything easier.

1. Who will be on our team — nurse, aide, social worker, chaplain — and will we see the same people each time?
2. How often will each of them visit, and how does that change as needs increase?
3. How quickly can a nurse come to the house for a scheduled or urgent visit?

Track record and staffing

Why this matters: How long a hospice has operated and whether it's adequately staffed shape the care you actually get — and in areas where new hospices have appeared quickly, a track record is worth asking about.

1. How long have you been Medicare-certified and caring for patients in our area?
2. Are you accepting new patients right now without a wait, and do you have enough nurses and aides to cover our needs?
3. Can we look up your quality ratings and any complaint or deficiency history? A good hospice will point you to its Medicare Care Compare page and answer plainly. Our guide on how to tell if a hospice is good shows where to find this.
4. What is the mix of registered nurses and aides on the team, and who is on call to make clinical decisions after hours?

Availability and emergencies

Why this matters: The hard moments come at night and on weekends. Every Medicare-certified hospice must have someone reachable 24/7 — but who answers, and how fast help arrives, varies.

1. When we call the 24-hour line at 2 a.m., who answers — a nurse, or an answering service that pages one?
2. How fast can a nurse actually get to us after hours?
3. For a symptom crisis, do we call you or 911 first, and what's the plan you'd want us to follow?

Symptoms, medications, and equipment

Why this matters: Comfort is the whole point. You want confidence that pain and other symptoms will be managed and that supplies won't be a fight.

1. How do you manage pain and other symptoms, and how quickly can medications be adjusted or delivered?
2. What equipment and supplies will you provide, and how fast do they arrive after we enroll?
3. Will you leave a comfort kit of emergency medicines in the home, and teach us how to use it?

Costs and coverage

Why this matters: For most families on Medicare, hospice costs little or nothing — but you should hear that spelled out, not assumed.

1. What does Medicare cover, and is there anything at all we'd pay out of pocket? (See does Medicare cover hospice and how much hospice costs.)

When home isn't enough

Why this matters: Sometimes symptoms can't be controlled at home. You want to know the plan before a hard night, not during one.

1. If symptoms can't be managed at home, where would my loved one go for inpatient care, how fast, and who arranges it?
2. Do you offer respite care so I can rest, and how do we arrange it?

Support for the family

Why this matters: Hospice cares for the whole family, including after a death. Grief support is part of the benefit.

1. What emotional, spiritual, and grief support do you offer the family, and for how long after a death does it continue?

In California: licensing

Why this matters: California hospices are licensed by the state separately from Medicare, and recent history makes verification worth the two minutes it takes.

1. What is your California license number? (Then confirm it yourself, for free, on the state's Cal Health Find database — the state's record is the one that settles any doubt.)

Red flags worth noticing

Why this matters: The answers matter, but so does the manner. A few responses should make you slow down and verify before enrolling.

• Pressure to sign up fast, or gifts, cash, or "free" services offered in exchange for enrolling — legitimate hospices never pay for patients, and it's illegal to do so.
• Reluctance to give a license number, confirm Medicare certification, or put commitments in writing.
• Vague answers about who covers nights and weekends, or how quickly a nurse can actually reach you.
• Any promise to cure or reverse the illness — hospice is comfort-focused care, and an honest hospice will tell you so plainly.
• Reluctance to discuss quality ratings, complaint or deficiency history, or the staffing mix on the team caring for your loved one.

After you've asked

Lay the answers next to each other. You're not looking for a hospice that aced a quiz — you're looking for the one that met your questions with calm, specific, honest answers, and that actually serves your home. When you're ready, enter your ZIP code on our homepage to see every hospice whose Medicare service area covers your address, each with a call button, and start the conversation.