Can you leave hospice and come back?
The short answer
Yes. Your loved one can stop hospice at any time, for example to try treatment aimed at a cure, and their regular Medicare coverage starts again. If they need hospice later and still qualify, they can enroll again, with no waiting period.
General information, not medical advice. Your hospice team knows your person and can answer for your situation.
How does someone stop hospice?
Stopping hospice is called revoking it. It is your loved one's choice, and they can make it at any time. A spoken request isn't enough. The hospice will ask them to sign a form that includes the date hospice care will end.
The date can't be earlier than the day they sign. Medicare also says no one should ask your person to sign a form about stopping hospice if they didn't ask for it.
What happens after they leave?
Regular Medicare coverage starts again, so your person can go back to treatments aimed at a cure. If they were in a Medicare Advantage Plan and kept paying its premiums, the plan's coverage continues too.
Any days left in the current benefit period are given up. If they return later, they simply start the next benefit period.
Can they come back?
Yes. If your person still qualifies, they can choose hospice again at any time. There is no waiting period. A doctor will need to certify again that they are terminally ill.
Hospice isn't a one-way door. Knowing that can make the first decision feel less frightening.
What if you just want a different hospice?
You don't have to leave hospice to change providers. Your person can switch to a different hospice once in each benefit period. This is a transfer, not a revocation, so their hospice care continues.
If something isn't working, it can help to tell the hospice team first and ask what they can change.
Is leaving the same as being discharged?
No. Revoking is your person's choice. A discharge is when the hospice ends care. This can happen if your person's health improves and the hospice doctor can't recertify them, if they move out of the hospice's service area, or in rare cases involving safety.
A hospice can't revoke hospice for your person, and it shouldn't pressure them to revoke. If your person is being discharged because they improved and you disagree, you can ask for a fast review. The hospice should give you a written notice explaining how. Read more in staying on hospice past six months.
Sources
- CMS, Medicare Hospice Benefits (booklet 02154): medicare.gov/publications/02154-medicare-hospice-benefits.pdf
- Medicare.gov, Hospice care: medicare.gov/coverage/hospice-care
- CMS, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 9: cms.gov/regulations-and-guidance/guidance/manuals/downloads/bp102c09.pdf
Educational information only. This article is not medical, legal, or financial advice, and it can't account for your person's health or your state's rules. Always talk with your hospice team, doctor, or Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE) about your situation. If you think it's an emergency, call your hospice's 24-hour number or 911.