If you or loved ones are facing a serious illness, you may have heard the terms “palliative care” or “hospice.”
You might have even heard these terms used interchangeably. But palliative care and hospice aren’t the same. While they have a lot in common, there are some important differences.
CHP provides both, but to get the right kind of care in your situation, here’s a summary of what each service offers.
Palliative Care
Palliative care may be available at any time for individuals with serious and potentially life-threatening conditions. It focuses on improving the overall wellness of individuals with serious illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and COPD.
Palliative medicine doesn’t replace other treatments. It’s an addition that helps you and your family deal with things such as nausea, nerve pain, or shortness of breath.
If an illness makes it harder to work, play, get around, or causes depression, palliative care can address that, too. People have said they feel more in control of their lives as a result.
Hospice Care
Like palliative care, hospice provides comprehensive comfort care and family support. But, patients elect to stop curative treatments to enter hospice. Hospice is for when a person has a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less. It’s about easing pain and helping families prepare for the end of life.
When people hear “going into hospice” they may think this means entering a facility. However, hospice can take place in many different settings, including at home, in a nursing home, or an inpatient hospice center.
Both hospice and palliative care offer medicines that ease pain. Those can range from over-the-counter drugs such as ibuprofen to stronger relief with opioid medications.
Will Insurance Pay?
Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors, pays all charges related to hospice care. So does Medicaid, the federal-state health program for the poor. Most private insurers cover it as well.
Palliative care is not as well-covered. Medicare and private insurers cover some medicines, but not others.
Conclusion
Palliative care can be available at any time, regardless of illness stage, prognosis, or life expectancy. Hospice care is only available when an illness is no longer responding to treatment. Hospice is end-of-life care. However, a person can come out of hospice care should his or her condition begin to improve.
Patients and their families can discuss the options of palliative and hospice care with their health care provider. It also pays to ask questions about health insurance coverage to determine if the costs of palliative or hospice care will be covered. A long-term care policy also may be an option to cover palliative services.
| Palliative Care | Hospice | |
| Who’s eligible? | anyone with a serious, long-term illness, regardless of the stage | anyone with a terminal illness whose doctor determines they have less than 6 months to live |
| What does it involve? | • symptom relief • help making important medical and treatment decisions • emotional, spiritual, and financial support for the patient and their family • assistance in coordinating care | • symptom relief • help making important end-of-life decisions • emotional, spiritual, and financial support for the patient and their family • assistance in coordinating care |
| Can you still get curative treatments? | yes, if you wish | no, you must stop curative treatments in order to qualify for hospice |
| Can you still get life-prolonging treatments? | yes, if you wish | no, you must stop life-prolonging treatments in order to qualify for hospice |
| Who’s involved? | a doctor or nurse(s) specializing in palliative care, as well as other healthcare professionals such as your primary doctor, pharmacists, social workers, and counselors | a doctor or nurse(s) specializing in hospice care, as well as other healthcare professionals such as your primary doctor, pharmacists, social workers, and counselors |
| Where is it available ? | home care is available but is most often offered through a hospital or outpatient clinic | • a hospital • a nursing home • an assisted-living facility • a hospice facility • your own home |
| How long can you get it for? | depends on your insurance coverage and what treatments you need | as long as you meet the care provider’s life expectancy requirements |
| When can you get it? | as soon as you receive a diagnosis | when an illness is terminal or life-limiting |