Hospice

Hospice is a type of healthcare that focuses on providing comfort, pain management, and support for terminally ill patients and their families rather than curative treatment. TRICARE covers hospice care for eligible beneficiaries with a terminal prognosis of six months or less.

TRICARE hospice benefits include: • Pain and symptom management • Nursing care • Medical social services • Counseling (including bereavement counseling for family) • Medications related to the terminal illness • Durable medical equipment • Short-term inpatient care for symptom management • Respite care for caregivers

Hospice care settings: • Patient's home (most common) • Hospice facility • Nursing facility • Hospital (for acute symptom management)

TRICARE hospice requirements: • Physician certification of terminal illness (6-month prognosis) • Beneficiary elects hospice care • Care provided by a TRICARE-authorized hospice provider • Prior authorization from TRICARE required

When electing hospice, the beneficiary waives TRICARE coverage for curative treatment of the terminal condition but retains coverage for unrelated conditions. Hospice can be revoked if the beneficiary's condition improves or if they choose to resume curative treatment.