Planning & Rights
Advance Directives and Hospice
Understanding advance directives in hospice care, including living wills, DNR orders, healthcare proxies, and how they work with hospice services.
Read guide →Learn about your rights to revoke hospice care, return to curative treatment, and re-enroll in hospice if circumstances change.
Written and reviewed by a board-certified hospice & palliative medicine physician
Last reviewed:
7 min read
One of the most important things to understand about hospice is that it's always a choice. You have the right to leave hospice at any time, for any reason, and return to curative treatment. Understanding your rights can help you feel more confident in your decision to try hospice, knowing that you're not locked into it permanently.
Key Point: Hospice is always voluntary. You can revoke it at any time, return to regular medical care, and re-enroll in hospice later if you choose. There are no penalties or waiting periods.
You have the absolute right to revoke (leave) hospice care at any time. This is a legal right protected by Medicare and applies to all hospice patients, regardless of how long they've been on hospice.
Contact your hospice provider and tell them you want to revoke hospice services. This can be done verbally or in writing.
You'll sign a revocation form (or provide verbal revocation that's documented). This is a simple process—no complicated paperwork.
You immediately return to regular Medicare coverage for curative treatment. There's no waiting period or gap in coverage.
Important: When you leave hospice, you return to your regular Medicare benefits immediately. You can resume all treatments, see any doctors, and use all medical services covered by Medicare. Your hospice benefit periods remain available for future use if you need hospice again.
Sometimes a patient's condition improves significantly, and they no longer meet hospice criteria. This is actually good news! They can leave hospice and return to regular medical care. If they need hospice again later, they can re-enroll.
If a new treatment becomes available or you decide you want to try a different approach, you can leave hospice to pursue that treatment. You're not locked out of trying new options.
If the hospice provider isn't meeting your needs or you're not satisfied with the care, you can leave and either try a different hospice provider or return to regular medical care.
You may simply decide that hospice isn't right for you at this time. That's okay—you have the right to change your mind and pursue other options.
As soon as you revoke hospice, you return to your regular Medicare Part A and Part B benefits. You can immediately resume all treatments, see any doctors, and use all medical services.
Equipment provided by hospice (like hospital beds, oxygen) may be removed, though some items might be able to be rented or purchased if you still need them. Your hospice team will discuss this with you.
Medications provided by hospice will stop, but your regular doctor can prescribe similar medications through regular insurance if needed. Your hospice team will help coordinate this transition.
Your hospice benefit periods remain available. If you need hospice again in the future, you can re-enroll using your remaining benefit periods. There's no penalty for leaving and returning.
If you leave hospice and later decide you want to return, you can re-enroll at any time, as long as you still meet eligibility criteria:
There's no waiting period to re-enroll in hospice. If you meet eligibility criteria, you can re-enroll immediately.
You can re-enroll with the same hospice provider or choose a different one. You're not locked into the same provider.
Your hospice benefit periods continue from where they left off. Medicare provides unlimited benefit periods, so you can use hospice as many times as needed.
You'll need to meet hospice eligibility criteria again (terminal illness with 6-month prognosis). A physician will need to certify eligibility.
It's important to understand that hospice is always your choice, and you have specific rights:
You have the right to revoke hospice at any time, for any reason, without penalty or waiting period.
You can change hospice providers at any time if you're not satisfied with care. You don't have to leave hospice entirely—just switch providers.
You can re-enroll in hospice at any time if you meet eligibility criteria. There's no limit on how many times you can use hospice.
You have the right to receive clear information about your rights, including the right to revoke hospice, before and during hospice care.
Explore related hospice topics and practical family guidance.
Planning & Rights
Understanding advance directives in hospice care, including living wills, DNR orders, healthcare proxies, and how they work with hospice services.
Read guide →Planning & Rights
Learn about your rights to choose hospice care and select any provider you want.
Read guide →Understanding Hospice Care
Learn about the four levels of hospice care: routine, continuous, inpatient, and respite care, and when each is used.
Read guide →Explore hospice providers and care options for families across Texas.