Assisted Living vs. Hospice

What Is Hospice Care?

First, let’s talk about hospice. This form of care is for people who face a terminal illness and are expected to live up to six months. The focus of hospice care is mostly to provide high-quality relief for pain, compassionate nurturing for emotional needs, and authoritative support for spiritual matters. Hospice care helps people live out their lives with comfort and dignity.

Hospice care is often provided at the person’s home, but it is also available at long-term care facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and even dedicated hospice centers.

Hospice care uses a team-oriented approach to deliver the best expertise for different areas of need: medical, emotional, and spiritual. The team may include doctors, nurses, therapists, counselors, and clergy who are available around the clock, seven days a week. Professional help is always there when needed.

A family member will usually be the point person for that hospice team and all decisions funnel through that family leader to support their loved one. Family caregivers also receive support and coaching on how to care for their loved one (and themselves) because the caregiving role can be tremendously draining and often overwhelming.

Here's a list of hospice care services that are typically included:

• Relief of pain and discomfort from illness symptoms
• Support for emotions around dying
• Counsel on spiritual beliefs about life and the afterlife
• Help with medication dosing and schedules
• Nurse services
• Support and information for family in their caring tasks and transition
• Therapy for movement, speech, memory, and more

Myths about Hospice

Hospice is often misunderstood. Let’s correct some common myths that surround hospice.

• Hospice is not only for the elderly. It’s for terminal patients of any age.
• Hospice centers are not the only place to get hospice care. Patients can also receive hospice care wherever they live — at a nursing home, an assisted living facility, a hospital, or their private residence.
• Hospice does not mean everyone is giving up. On the contrary. Hospice focuses on helping the patient live well. Rather than using curative measures, hospice focuses on symptom and pain management. The aim of hospice is to address a patient’s physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs.
• Medication can be given during hospice. Medications and palliative treatment are given to ensure the comfort and dignity of the patient, but medication is not given to treat cancer or other conditions.
• Hospice does not hasten death. Many studies show hospice can prolong life. In one study, lung cancer patients in the hospice group lived 511 days vs. 402 days for people in the non-hospice group.1

What Is Assisted Living?

Assisted living is designed for fairly healthy older adults who want to stay active and just need a helping hand with daily living tasks. Almost any assisted living facility you go into will have the basics: a dining area for meals, transportation, and security.

Many want to live with their peers in a place with more amenities than they have at home. Amenities on-site you commonly find at assisted living facilities across the country include laundry services, beauty salons, and fitness rooms or centers. Visit our guide to assisted living in 2024 to learn more.

Services that assisted living facilities typically provide include:

• Prepping meals
• Giving correct medications
• Assisting with hygiene and grooming tasks
• Assisting with dressing
• Assisting with helping seniors move around
• Offering transportation
• Running errands
• Making appointments
• Offering exercise
• Offering social activities and trips
• Providing housekeeping and laundry services
• Offering a pet-friendly environment (sometimes giving third-party pet care)

Assisted Living vs. Hospice Costs

Costs for assisted living care are higher than costs for hospice care. Assisted living generally will be higher in price because it typically requires out-of-pocket payments for additional services not usually covered by Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans.

For seniors in assisting living, families usually cover the costs by cashing out family savings, investments, and real estate sales. Medicaid often pays some expenses, as will some state-run programs and certain life insurance plans. Veterans’ benefits also often help manage the costs.

Hospice care tends to be cheaper than assisted living because it provides end-of-life support without the long-term housing and personal-care costs. Hospice is focused on end-of-life comfort without the need for high-priced medications and medical procedures, and, by and large, hospice costs are covered by Medicare. Costs may also be covered by your private insurance plan, Medicaid, and veterans’ benefits.

Here is a chart to easily compare the two forms of care at a glance. Keep in mind that assisted living facilities may offer some of these services at an extra cost.

*In hospice, you may owe a copay of up to $5 per prescription for pain and symptom management. Ask your hospice team if your Medicaid or Medicare Part D plan will cover the full cost of the prescription.