A compassionate, evidence-based assessment to help families, caregivers, and healthcare professionals understand whether a loved one may be ready for hospice care — and what meaningful comfort and support awaits them.
This helps us tailor the language and results to be most useful for your situation. Your answer stays private.
Select the condition that best describes the primary diagnosis for your loved one. This tailors the symptom review to the most clinically relevant indicators for that condition.
Check every indicator that applies over recent weeks or months. Indicators marked KEY carry particular clinical weight for the diagnosis selected.
Indicators you identified:
Download a summary PDF to bring to your physician, social worker, or hospice inquiry call.
Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit (Part A), all of the following are covered at no cost to the patient or family when a physician certifies a prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its normal course.
Here is the typical journey from this moment to enrollment — and beyond. Every family's path is unique. This is a guide, not a prescription.
Share your concerns and the results of this assessment. Ask directly: "Would my loved one benefit from a hospice evaluation?" Physicians are required to certify a prognosis of 6 months or less — having this conversation is the first door to open.
A Moments Hospice team (typically a nurse and social worker) will visit — usually within 24–48 hours — to complete a clinical evaluation at no cost and with no obligation. This visit is information-gathering. It is not a commitment to enroll.
Choosing hospice means shifting focus from curative treatment to comfort-centered care. This is a reversible decision — your loved one can disenroll at any time and return to standard Medicare coverage. Enrolling does not mean "giving up." It means choosing quality of life.
Hospice is team-based care. A physician, registered nurse, social worker, chaplain, home health aide, and bereavement counselor collaborate around a personalized Plan of Care built with — and for — the patient and their family.
Hospice meets patients where they are: at home, in assisted living, in a skilled nursing facility, or in a dedicated hospice facility. Routine visits begin immediately, with 24/7 phone support available from day one.
Bereavement care does not end at death. Moments Hospice provides grief counseling and support to families for a full year — honoring the complete arc of this journey.
"If this condition runs its expected course, do you believe my loved one has six months or less to live?"
"Would you support or recommend a hospice evaluation at this time?"
"What would change about their care if we chose the hospice benefit?"
"Are there treatments or hospitalizations that might not align with their comfort goals?"
"What does a 'good day' look like for them — and how can hospice help us have more of those?"
These misunderstandings often delay families from accessing care their loved one could be receiving right now.
Hospice means giving up hope or hastening death.
Hospice focuses on living as fully and comfortably as possible. Research shows hospice patients sometimes live longer than those who pursue aggressive treatment.
You have to stop all medications and treatments.
Hospice covers all medications and treatments related to the terminal diagnosis. The focus shifts from cure to comfort — not from care to no care.
Hospice is only for the last days of life.
Medicare authorizes hospice for the last six months of life. Families who enroll earlier report significantly higher satisfaction and better quality of life for their loved one.
Once on hospice, you can't change your mind.
The hospice election is fully revocable at any time, for any reason. Your loved one can return to curative Medicare coverage immediately.
Hospice is very expensive.
Medicare Part A covers hospice care 100% — including medications, equipment, nursing, aide services, and counseling. Most Medicaid plans and private insurers follow the same model.
My loved one has to leave their home.
Most hospice care is delivered wherever the patient calls home — house, apartment, assisted living, or nursing facility.
Our team is available to answer questions, complete a no-obligation consultation, or simply listen. There is no wrong time to reach out — and it costs nothing to call.
Important Notice: This tool is for educational purposes only and does not constitute a medical diagnosis or clinical determination of hospice eligibility. Only licensed physicians can certify terminal status. Clinical indicators are based on CMS Medicare Local Coverage Determinations (LCD L33393, L34538) and NHPCO guidelines. Individual circumstances vary — please consult with a qualified healthcare professional regarding any specific situation.