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Do You Have to Pay for Palliative Care at Home?
Date Updated: February 3, 2025
Written by:
Lauren Ferguson has over five years of experience as a freelance writer, specializing in senior care topics such as assisted living and memory care. She holds a degree in Liberal Studies and English from the University of Illinois Springfield. Having navigated the process of placing her mother in a long-term care community, Lauren offers a unique insider's perspective to families facing similar situations.
Reviewed by:
Kristi Bickmann, a licensed Long-Term Care Specialist, represents top-rated "Traditional" & "Hybrid" LTC companies. Serving associations such as the American Nurses Association, she's a licensed insurance agent in 27 states. Specializing in insurance products for seniors, Kristi helps hundreds of families every year protect assets, retirement, and loved ones. She understands aging concerns firsthand, having assisted her own parents. Kristi ensures accuracy on topics about senior long-term care and its consequences.
You may have to pay for palliative care at home. People nearing the end of their lives might qualify for hospice benefits, including palliative support. Others may obtain palliative care at any stage of serious illnesses from home health care agencies. Without funding, people must pay using private means.
Medicaid Coverage of Palliative Care
Although states have no obligation to cover hospice care in their Medicaid programs, many include optional funding for end-of-life care. To qualify, a doctor must state that the recipient has a life-limiting condition and an expected remaining life span of less than six months. Hospice care plans include palliative measures designed to relieve pain and ease uncomfortable symptoms.
However, people may need palliative care at other stages of serious conditions, not only in their final six months. In most states, Medicaid pays for home health care for homebound individuals who meet functional and financial criteria. Home health care support plans include part-time palliative care services where required; nurses and therapists provide skilled and rehabilitative support in a person’s home. As of June 2024, only one state — Hawaii — specifically covers palliative care in its Medicaid program.
Medicare Coverage of Palliative Care
Medicare provides palliative care for those receiving hospice benefits. Eligibility criteria include a terminal diagnosis and a maximum life expectancy of six months. Individuals who have severe conditions — such as cancer, kidney disease or dementia — but aren’t in the final stages of their lives don’t qualify for hospice care. Instead, they may be eligible for home health care coverage, which can include comfort care delivered in their private residence. To qualify, individuals must be homebound.
Alternative Ways to Pay for In-Home Palliative Care
If someone doesn’t qualify for Medicare or Medicaid or only receives partial funding for their required in-home palliative care services, they must pay for their care in other ways. Options include:
- VA benefits
- Private funds, such as income and savings
- Reverse mortgages
- Bank loans
- Long-term care insurance
- Financial assistance from family, friends or local charities