Last verified: October 2026
What is hospice care?
Hospice is comfort-focused care for someone with a life-limiting illness whose physician expects six months or less if the illness runs its usual course; a team of nurses, aides, social workers and chaplains comes to wherever the person lives, including a personal care home or nursing home.
CMS lists 42 Medicare-certified hospices with an office in our seven counties, 23 of them in Allegheny County.
What does Medicare's hospice benefit cover?
Medicare's hospice benefit covers the hospice team's visits, medications and equipment related to the terminal diagnosis, and short-term inpatient and respite care; it does not pay room and board in a personal care home or nursing home.
That is the cost families most often miss: a resident in a personal care home still owes the home's monthly rate while on hospice.
Can you change hospice providers or stop hospice?
Yes. A patient can change hospice providers and can revoke hospice to return to treatment aimed at a cure, then elect hospice again later if eligible.
Palliative care is different: it focuses on symptom relief and can be provided alongside curative treatment at any stage.
How do you choose a hospice near Pittsburgh?
Ask how quickly the hospice responds after hours, how often nurses and aides visit, whether it serves your parent's facility regularly, and what support it gives the family after death; confirm Medicare certification on Care Compare.
The hospice directory lists every certified agency in the region with its certification date.
Where are hospice agencies based around Pittsburgh?
Of the 42 Medicare-certified hospices with an office in the seven counties, 23 are in Allegheny County, 7 in Westmoreland, 5 in Butler, 3 in Washington and 3 in Fayette; the longest-certified is VNA Hospice, Western PA, Medicare-certified since May 1984.
Armstrong County has no hospice office on the CMS list and Beaver County has one, but agencies based elsewhere serve both; the office address is not the service area.
Can hospice come to a personal care home or nursing home?
Yes. Hospice is delivered wherever the patient lives, including a personal care home, an assisted living residence or a nursing home; the hospice team adds visits, medications and equipment for the terminal diagnosis, while the home continues daily care and continues to charge its usual rate.
Ask the home which hospices it works with regularly. You can still choose a different Medicare-certified hospice.
Hospice: what it is and is not
| It is | It is not | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | comfort | cure |
| Place | wherever the person lives | only a hospital |
| Medicare | covers team, related drugs, equipment | room and board |
| Commitment | revocable | permanent |
