Who actually qualifies for hospice care? Is hospice only available to people who have cancer?
There is a fairly common misperception that hospice care is designed only for cancer patients. This is not the case. The fact is that hospice care is designed for any individual that has a life threatening or terminal illness. The definition that is used by funding sources of who qualifies for hospice care including Medicare, private insurance and so forth requires a prognosis of six months of less of life if the illness runs its predicted course. The patient and the family (or other loved ones) are considered together as a unit of care.
