Worcester Senior AdvisorWhat is the difference between hospice and palliative care?
Palliative care treats symptoms and stress of a serious illness at any stage and alongside curative treatment, while hospice is comfort-focused care for someone with a life expectancy of six months or less who has chosen to stop curative treatment for that illness.
Palliative care is often delivered by a hospital team, such as at UMass Memorial or Saint Vincent, or through outpatient clinics. Hospice comes to wherever the patient lives: home, assisted living or a nursing home.
What does Medicare pay for hospice?
Medicare's hospice benefit covers the hospice team, medications and equipment related to the terminal illness, and short-term respite and inpatient care, with little or no cost to the patient; it does not pay for room and board in a residence or nursing home.
That last point matters for families paying for assisted living: hospice adds care but does not reduce the residence's monthly fee. MassHealth may cover room and board in a nursing home for eligible residents on hospice.
How many hospices serve Worcester County?
CMS lists 12 Medicare-certified hospices with offices in Worcester County, in Auburn, Charlton, Gardner, Leominster, Milford, Westborough and Worcester, and several hospices based outside the county also serve it.
The home health and hospice roster lists each one. Ask how quickly a nurse can visit after hours and whether the hospice already serves residents in your parent's building.
Can someone leave hospice if they improve?
Yes: a patient can leave hospice at any time, for example to resume curative treatment or because their condition stabilizes, and can re-enroll later if they again qualify.
Hospice is reviewed in benefit periods, and a hospice physician recertifies that the prognosis still fits. Families who are unsure can ask for palliative care first.
Can hospice care happen in a Worcester County assisted living residence?
Yes: hospice teams regularly serve residents of certified Assisted Living Residences, and residents have the right to choose their own licensed or certified providers, so a resident can usually stay in their apartment through the end of life.
Ask the residence how it works with hospice at night, when its own staff are fewer, and whether a family member or private aide is expected to fill gaps. Some residences have a preferred hospice; you are not required to use it.
At a glance
| Hospice | Palliative care | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | Prognosis of six months or less | Anyone with a serious illness |
| Treatment | Comfort care instead of curative treatment | Alongside curative treatment |
| Payment | Medicare hospice benefit | Regular Medicare and insurance benefits |
Sources include M.G.L. c. 19D and 651 CMR 12.00, the Executive Office of Aging & Independence's assisted living pages and 2025 Census Report, MassHealth's 2026 financial guidelines, DPH and CMS, and the CareScout and VA rate tables cited above; see our editorial standards.
