You can change hospice providers, and you do not have to give up your Medicare hospice benefit to do it. The choice of hospice belongs to the patient or their legal representative. Medicare allows one change of hospice in each benefit period, as long as it is handled as a transfer and not as a revocation. Done correctly, care continues without a gap.

Most families never plan to leave the first hospice they choose. Then calls go unanswered, visits feel rushed, or a move changes what is practical. You have more options than you may think.

You Have the Right to Choose Your Hospice

Hospice is a benefit you elect, not a contract that locks you in. Choosing an agency is part of that election, and the right to choose does not end when care begins.

In practice, you are entitled to:

• Pick the agency that serves your loved one’s address and fits your family
• Ask questions about the plan of care and expect clear answers
• Raise concerns and expect them to be taken seriously
• Change hospices through a transfer when care is not meeting your needs
• Revoke hospice altogether if your goals change

Wanting a different team is not disloyal. Needs change, and fit matters most when your family is already carrying so much.

Common Reasons Families Consider a Change

Every situation is different, but a few reasons come up often:

• Communication gaps. Calls and questions are not answered quickly enough.
• Visit frequency. Nursing or aide visits do not match what your loved one needs right now.
• Symptom control. Pain, breathlessness, or anxiety is not being addressed promptly.
• A move. Your loved one has relocated to a new home, facility, or city.
• Trust. The team simply does not feel like the right fit.

You do not have to wait for things to get worse. Our article on how hospice helps families spend less time managing care describes what good support is supposed to feel like, which can help you judge whether your current experience measures up.

Transfer vs. Revocation: The Difference That Protects Your Benefit

This is the detail families most often miss, and it is where benefits get lost.

A transfer moves a patient from one hospice to another while hospice care continues without interruption. A revocation ends the hospice election entirely. After a revocation, the patient returns to standard Medicare coverage, and any days left in that election period are forfeited.

That is why the words you use matter. Telling your current agency “we’re done” can be treated very differently from asking for a transfer to a named hospice on a named date. Say “transfer” every time. If your goals have changed and you are leaving hospice altogether, that is a revocation, and we explain how it works in Hospice Is Not a One-Way Door.

How Changing Hospice Providers Works, Step by Step

• Step 1: Confirm where you are in the benefit period. Medicare hospice runs in two 90-day periods, followed by an unlimited number of 60-day periods. Only one transfer is allowed in each period, so ask your current hospice for the start date of the current one and confirm a transfer has not already happened.
• Step 2: Choose the new hospice. Ask the new agency whether it serves your loved one’s address, who answers the phone at night, and when it can begin. You can check the areas we serve and review our hospice care services.
• Step 3: Sign a written transfer statement. The patient or their legal representative signs a statement naming the hospice being left, the hospice being chosen, and the effective date. It is filed with both agencies.
• Step 4: Line up the effective date. A transfer has to happen immediately, with one agency ending and the other beginning on the same date. Do not end services with your current hospice until the new one confirms it is ready to start.
• Step 5: Hand off medications and equipment. The receiving team reviews current medications and orders what is needed. Hospital beds, oxygen, and other durable medical equipment may be swapped or continued depending on what each agency supplies. Our post on how hospice sets up equipment before they arrive shows what that setup usually looks like.
• Step 6: Meet your new team. Expect a fresh assessment and a new plan of care. You can meet our hospice team and read what to expect in the first days of care.

What Continues, and What Changes

A well-handled transfer should feel seamless for your loved one. In general:

• Hospice stays in place. The benefit period carries over, so the clock does not reset.
• Your care team changes. New nurses, aides, and social workers are assigned.
• Your plan is reassessed. The new hospice builds its own plan from current needs.
• Services are confirmed. Ask about respite care and bereavement services so you know what the whole family can expect.

If symptoms are the reason you are considering a change, ask each agency about specialized pain management and how quickly it responds after hours.

Before You Switch: Try One Conversation First

Sometimes a direct conversation with the current team or a request to meet their social worker resolves the problem. If it does not, a different team may be the right answer. Either choice belongs to you.

It helps to write down two or three specific examples, such as missed calls or delayed medication deliveries. Specifics give your current agency something to fix and help a new agency understand what you need.

Mistakes That Can Cost You Days of Coverage

A few missteps come up again and again:

• Ending services first. Stopping care before the new hospice is confirmed can leave a gap.
• Skipping the paperwork. The signed written statement is what makes it a transfer.
• Confusing transfer with revocation. Revocation forfeits the days left in the period.
• Assuming you can switch again right away. Only one change is allowed in each benefit period.
• Guessing at dates. Confirm the effective date in writing.

If your loved one has coverage other than Original Medicare, such as Medi-Cal or private insurance, the rules can differ. Call the plan first and ask how a change of hospice is handled.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Do we lose any hospice days if we transfer? No. A transfer keeps your loved one in the same benefit period, so the benefit continues where it left off.
• Can we change hospice providers more than once? Medicare allows one change of designated hospice in each benefit period. If your loved one reaches a new period, one more change may be available.
• Will the new hospice reassess my loved one? Yes. The receiving hospice completes its own required assessments and creates a new plan of care.
• What if we are unsure about staying in hospice at all? Hospice is a choice that can be ended at any time. If your loved one’s condition changes, our article on whether a hospice patient can get better explains what happens next.

You Do Not Have to Figure This Out Alone

Changing providers during a hard season can feel like one more burden. It does not have to. If you are weighing a change, our care team is glad to talk it through, with no pressure to decide today.

Call Journey Palliative and Hospice at (818) 748-3427 or contact our team with questions about transfers and benefit periods. You can also browse our FAQs. We proudly serve families in Burbank and the surrounding communities across Los Angeles County.