Hospice: the one decision the VA refuses to force
Medicare's hospice benefit requires forgoing curative treatment for the terminal condition; the VA does not — enrolled veterans can receive hospice and continue disease-directed treatment concurrently, with no copay for hospice care. Families can use both systems, and the choice between them is one of the few places the VA's rules are simply kinder.
Medicare hospice, precisely
Electing the Medicare hospice benefit means a physician certifies a six-month prognosis and the patient chooses comfort-focused care, waiving Medicare coverage of curative treatment for the terminal condition (care for unrelated conditions continues normally). In exchange: nearly everything hospice-related at $0 — the interdisciplinary team, home visits, medications for the terminal illness (small copays possible), equipment, respite stays — in renewable benefit periods (two 90-day, then unlimited 60-day recertifications), revocable at any time. It's a humane, comprehensive benefit with one hard edge: the either/or election itself, which is exactly where families stall.
The VA's answer: you don't have to choose
VA policy treats hospice and palliative care as part of the medical benefits package for enrolled veterans — with no VA copays for hospice care, in any setting the VA arranges (home, Community Living Centers, contracted community hospices) — and it permits concurrent care: a veteran may continue chemotherapy, dialysis, or other disease-directed treatment while receiving hospice support. For a veteran weighing one more treatment line against comfort, the VA removes the forced trade that defines the Medicare election. Palliative care consults (symptom-focused care at any illness stage, no prognosis required) are likewise standard VA services worth requesting early.
The systems never coordinate, so families mix them freely: a Medicare hospice agency at home (often one trained under the We Honor Veterans program — worth asking) while the VA continues service-connected care, or VA-arranged hospice with Medicare handling unrelated civilian needs. Electing Medicare hospice does not touch VA benefits, and vice versa. The sequencing call belongs to the care team plus the VA social worker or palliative consult — the one phone call (877-222-8387) that puts every option on one table.
The adjacent facts families need in the same week
- The 100-day SNF clock is a different benefit — skilled rehab rules, not comfort care; its page keeps the two from blurring.
- TFL and CHAMPVA follow Medicare's lead on hospice (CHAMPVA covers hospice at no cost share); the wraparounds don't add friction here.
- A&A interacts: the pension continues during home hospice — it's VA-paid institutional care that reduces it to $90/month.
- Afterward: the survivor checklist is written for the week that follows — burial benefits, DIC, and the coverage that continues. It can wait; it shouldn't be unknown.
Hospice decisions are medical and family decisions first — the coverage layer should be the easy part. An agent can confirm what your setup already covers so nobody buys anything in a hard week.
Connect With a Licensed AgentOr compare plans yourself at PlanMatch.com, or contact Medicare.gov / 1-800-MEDICARE.
Frequently asked questions
Can a veteran get hospice and treatment at the same time?
Does Medicare hospice cost anything?
Does choosing Medicare hospice affect VA benefits?
What is We Honor Veterans?
You earned these benefits. Make them work together.
Whether you keep exactly what you have or add Medicare coverage alongside it, the right answer depends on your health, budget, and how you like to get care.
No cost, no obligation. You can also get help from Medicare.gov, 1-800-MEDICARE (TTY 1-877-486-2048), or your local SHIP office.