VA hospice care is part of VA's standard medical benefits package, so a veteran enrolled in VA health care who meets the clinical need is eligible, and VA charges no copay for it. If a doctor has just told your family that treatment isn't working anymore, you may be asking whether the VA covers hospice care and what it will cost you. The first call to make is to the veteran's VA social worker.

In This Guide

Does the VA Cover Hospice Care?

Yes. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs treats hospice as part of its standard medical benefits package. On its hospice care page, VA says: "Since Hospice Care is part of the VHA Standard Medical Benefits Package, all enrolled Veterans are eligible IF they meet the clinical need for the service."

That sentence has two conditions in it, and they are the whole test. The veteran has to be enrolled in VA health care, and the veteran's clinical situation has to call for hospice. If you're reading this at a hospital bedside, those two conditions are the part to hold on to; the sections below take each one in turn, then cover cost.

Who Qualifies for VA Hospice Care?

VA describes who VA hospice care is for in plain terms. VA says hospice care is comfort care provided to veterans and their families "if the Veteran has a terminal condition, with less than 6 months to live, and is no longer seeking treatment other than palliative care." VA also calls hospice a benefit it offers to qualified veterans who are in the final phase of their lives, typically six months or less.

Enrollment comes first. Under 38 CFR 17.36, except as 38 CFR 17.37 provides otherwise, a veteran must be enrolled in the VA health care system as a condition for receiving VA's medical benefits package. Hospice sits inside that package, so a veteran who has never enrolled in VA health care needs to enroll before VA hospice care is on the table.

If your veteran is already enrolled in VA health care, this step is done. The families who need to check are those whose veteran never enrolled, and the starting point is basic eligibility. To be eligible for VA health care at all, VA says a veteran must have served in the active military, naval, or air service and not received a dishonorable discharge; veterans who enlisted after September 7, 1980, or entered active duty after October 16, 1981, generally must also have served 24 continuous months or the full period they were called to active duty, with exceptions. VA also places each enrolled veteran in one of 8 priority groups, and VA says veterans in priority group 8 subpriority groups e and g are not eligible for VA health care benefits, except that subpriority group e covers care for the service-connected condition only. If you're unsure where your veteran stands, the VA health care enrollment and priority groups guide walks through the groups in detail.

Clinical need is a medical question. Whether your veteran meets the clinical need for VA hospice care depends on the veteran's condition, and VA tells veterans and families to talk with their VA social worker about hospice care.

What Does VA Hospice Care Cost?

Money worries don't pause because someone you love is dying, and it's okay to ask about them. VA's answer on hospice is short: "There are NO COPAYS for Hospice Care, whether it is provided by the VA or an organization with a VA contract."

That no-copay rule for VA hospice care is written into federal law, too. Under 38 U.S.C. 1710, subsections (f)(1) and (g)(1) bar VA from furnishing hospital care, nursing home care, or medical services to a veteran eligible under subsection (a)(3) unless the veteran agrees to pay the applicable copayment, and each of those provisions excepts care that "constitutes hospice care." In other words, the veterans who would normally have to agree to copays for VA care are specifically carved out of that condition when the care is hospice.

One caution keeps this accurate. VA's no-copay statement is about hospice care itself, so if your veteran is also getting other care or living somewhere other than home, ask the VA social worker what else, if anything, your family could owe.

Where Can a Veteran Receive VA Hospice Care?

VA says hospice care "can be provided at home, in an outpatient clinic or in an inpatient setting." If you're picturing care at home, VA says it "works very closely with community and home hospice agencies to provide care in the home."

For inpatient care, two VA nursing home programs are worth knowing about, and VA says neither offers hospice at every location.,

Setting What it is What to check first
Home Hospice in the veteran's own home; VA works with community and home hospice agencies to provide it Ask the VA social worker which hospice agencies serve your area
Outpatient clinic Hospice care provided in an outpatient clinic setting Ask the VA care team what the clinic offers
VA Community Living Center A VA nursing home; some CLCs provide palliative and hospice care for end of life Not all CLCs provide all services, so contact the local VA medical center
VA Community Nursing Home A non-VA nursing home that VA contracts with; some provide hospice and palliative care Ask whether the specific home offers hospice

A VA Community Living Center (CLC) is a VA nursing home, and VA says there are over 100 Community Living Centers across the country, most on or close to the campus of a VA medical center. VA says some CLCs provide palliative and hospice care for end of life, but not all CLCs provide all services, so VA tells families to contact the local VA medical center to find out. For veterans interested in inpatient hospice at a Community Living Center, VA points families to CLC survey scores for hospice care, which may help when choosing a nursing home setting for hospice.

A VA Community Nursing Home is a non-VA nursing home that VA contracts with to care for veterans, and VA says some Community Nursing Homes provide hospice and palliative care for the end of life. Placement in a Community Nursing Home is its own VA program with its own rules: VA says it will only pay for Community Nursing Home care if the veteran meets eligibility criteria involving service-connected status, level of disability, and income. If a nursing home placement is part of your family's plan, ask the VA social worker how that program applies to your veteran before you commit to a facility.

What VA Hospice Care Includes for the Veteran and the Family

VA describes hospice as a "multi-disciplinary team approach" meant to help veterans "live fully until they die." In practice, VA says VA hospice care:

  • Provides services that relieve suffering and help control symptoms in a way that respects the veteran's personal, cultural, and religious beliefs and practices.
  • Brings the veteran and family together with a care team to develop a plan of care that meets the veteran's medical, social, spiritual and psychological needs.
  • Provides bereavement support to the veteran's family.

That plan of care is yours to shape. If your father wants to be home, or wants his chaplain involved, or wants to stop certain medications, the planning meeting is the place to say so.

What bereavement counseling covers. VA's regulation on bereavement counseling, 38 CFR 17.98, is narrower than many families expect. After a veteran's death, 38 CFR 17.98 allows VA bereavement counseling for people who were already receiving VA mental health services in connection with the veteran's treatment before the death, and only where the death was unexpected or occurred while the veteran was participating in a VA hospice or similar program. Under 38 CFR 17.98, that counseling may be provided only to help with the emotional and psychological stress of the veteran's death, and only for a limited period set by the Medical Center Director, not to exceed 60 days, although the Medical Center Director may approve a longer period when medically indicated. If you want grief support for yourself, ask about it early, while the veteran is still in hospice care, so you know what your family will and won't have access to.

Hospice or Palliative Care: Which One Fits Right Now?

These two words get used as if they meant the same thing, and it can make an already hard conversation more confusing. The National Institute on Aging says hospice care is a specific type of palliative care provided in the final weeks or months of life, and that in hospice, attempts to cure the person's illness are stopped. Palliative care, by contrast, can begin at any point during a serious illness and can be given with or without curative care, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Stopping curative treatment isn't the same as stopping care. The National Institute on Aging says "stopping treatment aimed at curing an illness does not mean discontinuing all treatment," and that other medical care may continue as long as it is helpful. If your veteran isn't ready to stop treatment aimed at a cure, palliative care may be the better fit for now. Our guide to VA palliative care covers that side, and the palliative care vs. hospice comparison goes deeper on choosing between them.

If Your Veteran Also Has Medicare

Many older veterans have both VA health care and Medicare, and holding both is normal: VA says a veteran with Medicare can use VA health care benefits along with it. What families need to know is the rule for how the two pay. Medicare's own guidance is: "Generally, Medicare and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can't pay for the same items or services. Each time you get health care or visit a provider, you'll have to choose which benefit to use." VA also says it does not bill Medicare.

So for hospice, your family is generally choosing which program pays for a given service, not stacking the two. Talk this through with the VA social worker and with any hospice agency before care starts, so everyone knows which benefit is in use.

The Medicare hospice benefit is a separate program with its own rules. Medicare covers hospice when the hospice doctor and the regular doctor (if there is one) certify the person is terminally ill with a life expectancy of 6 months or less, the person signs a statement choosing hospice care, and the care comes from a Medicare-approved hospice. Those Medicare steps belong to Medicare's program, not VA's. The Medicare hospice benefit guide explains how that route works, and how VA health benefits work with Medicare covers the wider picture.

How to Ask for VA Hospice Care

When time feels short, it helps to have the steps in order.

  1. If the veteran isn't enrolled in VA health care, enroll now. VA says veterans apply with the Application for Health Benefits (VA Form 10-10EZ): online, by calling VA's toll-free hotline at 877-222-8387 (Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET), by mailing the form to the Health Eligibility Center, in person at a VA medical center or clinic, or with help from an accredited attorney, claims agent, or Veterans Service Organization (VSO) representative.
  2. Talk with the veteran's VA social worker about hospice care. VA tells veterans and families to do exactly this. Bring what the doctors have told you about the diagnosis and prognosis.
  3. Say where the veteran wants to be. VA hospice care can happen at home, in an outpatient clinic, or in an inpatient setting, and for care at home VA works with community and home hospice agencies.
  4. If Medicare is also in the picture, ask which program will pay. Medicare says that, generally, Medicare and VA can't pay for the same items or services, so the veteran chooses which benefit to use each time.

You don't have to have every answer before that first call. Bringing your questions is enough.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the VA pay for hospice at home?

Yes, home is one of the settings VA names for VA hospice care, along with outpatient clinics and inpatient settings, and VA says it works very closely with community and home hospice agencies to provide care in the home.

Is there a VA hospice copay?

No. VA says there are no copays for VA hospice care, whether VA provides it or an organization with a VA contract does. The cost section above explains the federal law behind that rule.

Can a veteran use both VA and Medicare for hospice?

A veteran can hold both VA health care and Medicare, but Medicare says that, generally, Medicare and VA can't pay for the same items or services, and each time the veteran gets care they have to choose which benefit to use. Ask the VA social worker and the hospice agency which program is paying before care begins.

Can a veteran who wasn't enrolled in VA health care still get VA hospice?

Generally only after enrolling: under 38 CFR 17.36, enrollment in VA health care is a condition for receiving VA's medical benefits package, which includes VA hospice care, except as 38 CFR 17.37 provides otherwise. An enrolled veteran still has to meet the clinical need for hospice., The steps above list the ways to apply with VA Form 10-10EZ.

Is choosing hospice a permanent decision?

Not necessarily. The National Institute on Aging says choosing hospice "does not have to be a permanent decision," and that it is possible to leave hospice care for a while and later return if the health care provider still believes the patient has less than six months to live. Ask the VA care team how that works for your veteran's plan.

Learn More

VA BenefitsDoes the VA Cover Palliative Care?Yes, the VA covers palliative care for enrolled veterans, alongside treatment, at any stage. Who qualifies, what it includes, what it costs, and how to get it. VA BenefitsVA Health Care Enrollment and Priority GroupsHow VA health care enrollment and priority groups work for older veterans: who can enroll, the 8 priority groups, copays, how to apply, and long-term care. VA BenefitsHow VA Health Benefits Work with MedicareHow VA health benefits and Medicare work together for veterans: why they don't coordinate, the Part B penalty trap, Part D drug coverage, and what to enroll in. MedicareMedicare Hospice Benefit: Coverage, Costs, and When to Call HospiceThe Medicare hospice benefit covers end-of-life care at almost no cost, but not room and board. What it pays, what it doesn't, who qualifies, and when to call. VA BenefitsVA Burial and Memorial Benefits: A Family's GuideVA burial benefits for veterans and spouses in 2026: who can be buried in a national cemetery at no cost, the allowance amounts, and survivor support. VA BenefitsVA Benefits for Senior Care: A Guide for Veterans and FamiliesA complete guide to VA benefits for senior care: long-term care, Aid and Attendance, pensions, DIC, and home grants for older veterans and surviving spouses.

Find personalized help arranging VA hospice care for your veteran at brevy.com.

The information on Brevy.com is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional legal, financial, or medical advice. Rules vary by state and program and change frequently. Always verify with the relevant agency or a qualified professional. Brevy is not a law firm, financial advisor, or healthcare provider.

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