When your loved one’s doctor mentions palliative care or hospice, it can feel overwhelming. You might wonder: What’s the difference? Which one is right for our situation? Will Medicare cover it? These are important questions, and you deserve clear answers.
Many Oklahoma families struggle with these same concerns. The medical terminology can be confusing, and the emotional weight of these decisions makes everything harder. But understanding your options can help you make the best choice for your family.
This comprehensive guide will explain the key differences between palliative care and hospice, how Medicare and SoonerCare coverage works in Oklahoma, and how to decide which type of care is right for your loved one. You’ll also hear real stories from Tulsa and Muskogee families who’ve walked this path before you.
There’s no wrong choice, and you can always change your mind. Let’s explore your options together.
Quick Answer: What’s the Difference Between Palliative Care and Hospice?
Palliative care provides comfort and support at any stage of serious illness, even while pursuing curative treatment. Hospice care is a type of palliative care for the final six months of life when curative treatment has stopped. Palliative focuses on living well with serious illness; hospice focuses on comfort and dignity at end of life.
What is Palliative Care?
Definition in Simple Terms
Palliative care is specialized medical care focused on relief from symptoms, pain, and stress of serious illness. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family, regardless of diagnosis or stage of illness.
What makes palliative care different from typical medical care is that it can be provided alongside curative treatment. You can receive chemotherapy, dialysis, or other treatments while also getting palliative care support. It’s an extra layer of comfort care, not a replacement for your current treatment.
Many families wonder if palliative care means their doctor is giving up. The answer is absolutely not. Palliative care is about living as well as possible while managing serious illness. It’s about adding support, not taking anything away.
Who Qualifies for Palliative Care?
Anyone with a serious illness can receive palliative care, at any stage of the disease. You don’t need to be terminal or have a specific prognosis. The focus is on symptom management and quality of life improvement.
Common conditions that benefit from palliative care include:
- Cancer at any stage
- Heart failure
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Kidney disease requiring dialysis
- Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease
- Multiple sclerosis
- Parkinson’s disease
- Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
Palliative care is available in hospitals, outpatient clinics, specialized palliative care centers, and sometimes at home. In Oklahoma, many major health systems including Saint Francis Health System offer palliative care programs.
What Services Does Palliative Care Include?
Palliative care teams typically include doctors, nurses, social workers, and sometimes chaplains or counselors. Together, they provide:
Symptom and Pain Management: Medication adjustments and treatments to control pain, nausea, shortness of breath, fatigue, and other uncomfortable symptoms.
Care Coordination: Help navigating appointments with multiple specialists, understanding treatment options, and making sure all your doctors are communicating.
Emotional and Spiritual Support: Counseling for patients and families dealing with the stress, fear, and uncertainty of serious illness.
Treatment Decision Support: Help understanding complex medical information and making choices that align with your values and goals.
Family Meetings: Facilitated discussions to help families communicate about difficult topics and make decisions together.
The palliative care team works alongside your regular doctors. They don’t replace your oncologist, cardiologist, or primary care physician. They add an extra layer of support focused specifically on comfort and quality of life.
What is Hospice Care?
Definition in Simple Terms
Hospice care is specialized comfort care for people in the final months of life. It’s provided when curative treatment is no longer being pursued, and the focus shifts entirely to comfort, dignity, and quality of remaining time.
Hospice is actually a type of palliative care, but specifically for the end-of-life phase. The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization defines hospice as care for people with a terminal illness and a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease follows its expected course.
Choosing hospice doesn’t mean giving up hope. It means shifting what you’re hoping for from cure to comfort, from quantity of time to quality of time, from fighting disease to living fully in the time that remains.
Who Qualifies for Hospice Care?
To qualify for hospice care in Oklahoma, several criteria must be met:
Terminal Diagnosis: A physician must determine that the patient has a terminal illness with a life expectancy of six months or less if the disease progresses as expected.
Physician Certification: Two physicians (usually the patient’s primary doctor and the hospice medical director) must certify the terminal status.
Patient Choice: The patient (or their healthcare proxy) chooses to focus on comfort care rather than curative treatment. This is called “electing the hospice benefit.”
Medicare or Insurance Coverage: Most hospice patients have Medicare Part A, SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid), or private insurance that covers hospice services.
Common conditions that qualify for hospice include:
- Advanced cancer (Stage 4 with progression despite treatment)
- End-stage dementia (unable to communicate, requiring total care)
- End-stage heart failure (frequent hospitalizations, symptoms at rest)
- End-stage COPD (oxygen dependent, frequent exacerbations)
- End-stage kidney disease (declining dialysis or not a candidate)
- End-stage liver disease
- ALS with significant progression
It’s important to understand that the six-month prognosis is an estimate, not a deadline. Many patients live longer than six months on hospice, and care continues as long as physicians recertify that the terminal condition persists.
What Services Does Hospice Include?
Hospice care is remarkably comprehensive. The Medicare hospice benefit covers an extraordinary range of services, almost all at no cost to the family:
24/7 Nursing Care and Support: A hospice nurse is available by phone or in person any time, day or night. Regular nursing visits are scheduled based on the patient’s needs.
Pain and Symptom Management: All medications related to the terminal illness are covered, including pain medications, anti-nausea drugs, and other comfort medications. These are delivered to your home.
Medical Equipment: Hospital beds, wheelchairs, oxygen, walkers, and other equipment needed for comfort and safety are provided at no charge.
Hospice Aide Services: Certified nursing assistants help with bathing, dressing, grooming, and personal care several times per week.
Social Work Services: A hospice social worker helps with emotional support, advance directives, family dynamics, and connecting to community resources.
Chaplain Services: Spiritual counseling and support for patients and families of all faiths (or no faith). This is offered, never required.
Volunteer Support: Trained hospice volunteers provide companionship, respite for caregivers, and practical help like running errands.
Respite Care: Short-term inpatient care (up to five days) to give family caregivers a break. This is covered by Medicare hospice benefit.
Continuous Care and Inpatient Care: During crisis periods, hospice can provide round-the-clock care at home or in an inpatient hospice facility.
Bereavement Support: After the patient’s death, hospice provides grief counseling and support to family members for up to 13 months at no charge.
For Oklahoma families, this level of comprehensive support would cost thousands of dollars per month if paid out-of-pocket. Medicare hospice benefit covers it all with no copays or deductibles.
Key Differences Between Palliative and Hospice Care
Understanding the specific differences helps you determine which type of care fits your current situation.
Treatment Goals
Palliative Care: The goal is comfort and quality of life while continuing curative or life-prolonging treatment. You can receive chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis, antibiotics, or other treatments alongside palliative support.
Hospice Care: The goal is comfort only. Curative treatments stop, and the focus shifts entirely to symptom management, emotional support, and quality of remaining time. However, treatments for comfort (like radiation for painful bone metastases) can continue.
Eligibility Requirements
Palliative Care: No prognosis requirement. You can be at any stage of serious illness, from early diagnosis through advanced disease. The only requirement is that you have a serious illness causing symptoms that need management.
Hospice Care: Requires a terminal prognosis of six months or less if the disease follows its expected course. Two physicians must certify this terminal status.
Length of Care
Palliative Care: No time limit. You can receive palliative care for months or even years. As long as you have serious illness causing symptoms, palliative support can continue.
Hospice Care: Initially certified for 90-day periods, then 60-day periods. Many patients receive hospice for much longer than six months through ongoing recertification. There’s no limit to how many times you can be recertified if you remain terminally ill.
Where Care is Provided
Palliative Care: Often provided in hospitals, outpatient clinics, or specialized palliative care centers. Some programs offer home-based palliative care, but it’s less common than hospice home care.
Hospice Care: Primarily provided at home (where most patients prefer to be). Can also be provided in nursing facilities, assisted living communities, dedicated hospice inpatient centers, or hospitals.
Level of Family Support
Palliative Care: Focuses primarily on the patient’s symptom management and care coordination. Family support is available but less intensive. No aide services for bathing and personal care.
Hospice Care: Highly family-centered. Includes intensive caregiver support, aide services to help with personal care, respite care, volunteer support, and bereavement services. The family is considered part of the “unit of care.”
Medicare Coverage
Palliative Care: Covered under Medicare Part B as outpatient care. Requires copays and deductibles. Coverage varies depending on provider and setting. Some services may not be fully covered.
Hospice Care: Covered under Medicare Part A with comprehensive benefits and no copays or deductibles for hospice-related care. All medications, equipment, and services related to the terminal illness are included.
| Aspect | Palliative Care | Hospice Care |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment Goal | Comfort + curative treatment | Comfort only |
| Prognosis Required | No | 6 months or less |
| Length of Care | Unlimited | Renewable 90/60-day periods |
| Location | Hospital, clinic, sometimes home | Primarily home, also facilities |
| Curative Treatment | Yes, continues | No, stops (except for comfort) |
| Medicare Coverage | Part B, with copays | Part A, no copays |
| Aide Services | No | Yes, included |
| Bereavement Support | No | Yes, 13 months after death |
Medicare and SoonerCare Coverage in Oklahoma
Understanding how your insurance covers these types of care is crucial for Oklahoma families.
Medicare Coverage for Palliative Care
Medicare Part B covers palliative care services as outpatient care. However, coverage is more limited than hospice:
What’s Covered:
- Doctor visits focused on symptom management
- Outpatient consultations with palliative care specialists
- Some home health services if you’re homebound
- Medications (through Part D, with copays)
What You Pay:
- Standard Part B deductible (175 dollars in 2026)
- 20% coinsurance for doctor visits
- Copays for medications under Part D
- Some services may not be covered at all
For many Oklahoma families, the out-of-pocket costs for palliative care can add up, especially if you’re seeing multiple specialists and taking several medications.
Medicare Hospice Benefit (Part A)
The Medicare hospice benefit is one of the most comprehensive benefits in the entire Medicare program. For eligible beneficiaries in Oklahoma, it covers:
100% Coverage, No Copays:
- All nursing care related to terminal illness
- Hospice physician services
- Medical equipment (hospital beds, wheelchairs, oxygen)
- All medications for pain and symptom control
- Medical supplies (bandages, catheters, incontinence supplies)
- Hospice aide and homemaker services
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy for symptom control
- Social work services
- Dietary counseling
- Spiritual counseling
- Bereavement services for family
Minimal Cost-Sharing:
- Up to five dollars copay for outpatient prescription drugs (most pay zero)
- Up to five dollars copay for respite care per day
- No deductible
What Medicare Hospice Does NOT Cover:
- Treatment intended to cure the terminal illness
- Prescription drugs for conditions unrelated to terminal illness (these remain under Part D)
- Care from a provider not arranged by the hospice team
- Room and board if you live in a nursing home (but hospice services are still provided)
For Oklahoma families, this means that nearly all hospice care comes at no cost when covered by Medicare Part A.
SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid) Hospice Coverage
SoonerCare is Oklahoma’s Medicaid program, serving low-income individuals and families. The hospice benefit for SoonerCare members is comprehensive:
SoonerCare Hospice Coverage Includes:
- All services covered under Medicare hospice benefit
- Covers Medicare copays and deductibles for dual-eligible patients
- Same comprehensive medication, equipment, and service coverage
SoonerCare Eligibility for Hospice:
- Must be enrolled in SoonerCare
- Must meet hospice eligibility criteria (terminal illness, six-month prognosis)
- Physician certification of terminal status required
Contact Information:
- SoonerCare Helpline: 1-800-987-7767
- Oklahoma Health Care Authority website: oklahoma.gov/ohca
Special SoonerCare Benefit for Children
Oklahoma families with terminally ill children have a unique benefit under SoonerCare. The Affordable Care Act created a special provision allowing children to receive both hospice care and curative treatment simultaneously.
This means a child with cancer can continue chemotherapy while also receiving hospice support, pain management, and family services. This dual care is only available for children (under 21) enrolled in Medicaid programs like SoonerCare, not for adults.
For Oklahoma families facing the heartbreaking situation of a child with terminal illness, this provision provides maximum support without forcing impossible choices.
Cost Comparison for Oklahoma Families
Palliative Care Costs (Estimated):
- Monthly copays and deductibles: 200 to 500 dollars
- Medications: 100 to 300 dollars per month
- Medical equipment rentals: 150 to 400 dollars
- Total estimated monthly cost: 450 to 1,200 dollars
Hospice Care Costs (With Medicare Part A):
- Monthly out-of-pocket cost: 0 to 25 dollars
- Equipment, medications, nursing all included
- Total estimated monthly cost: Near zero
For many Oklahoma families, hospice becomes the more affordable option once a loved one becomes terminal, even if finances weren’t the primary consideration.
Can You Have Both Palliative and Hospice Care?
This is one of the most common questions Oklahoma families ask.
The Transition from Palliative to Hospice
Most families don’t jump directly from regular medical care to hospice. The typical journey looks like this:
Stage 1: Diagnosis and Curative Treatment Your loved one is diagnosed with serious illness and begins treatment aimed at cure or control. This might include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, or other interventions.
Stage 2: Palliative Care Added As the illness progresses or treatment becomes more difficult, a palliative care team is added to help manage symptoms, coordinate care, and support quality of life. Curative treatment continues.
Stage 3: Declining Health Treatments are less effective. Hospitalizations become more frequent. Symptoms are harder to control. Your loved one expresses desire to stop aggressive treatment and focus on comfort.
Stage 4: Transition to Hospice When curative treatment stops and prognosis becomes six months or less, the focus shifts to hospice care. Often, some of the same palliative care providers join the hospice team, providing continuity.
This transition can happen gradually over weeks or months, or sometimes more quickly. There’s no single right timeline. Every family’s journey is unique.
Special Case: Children Under SoonerCare
As mentioned earlier, Oklahoma children enrolled in SoonerCare can receive both hospice and curative treatment at the same time. This is a special federal provision for children under 21.
A child with leukemia, for example, can continue chemotherapy while also receiving hospice pain management, nursing support, counseling, and bereavement planning for the family. This dual approach provides maximum comfort and support while still allowing hope for cure.
If you’re an Oklahoma family with a seriously ill child on SoonerCare, ask your doctor about simultaneous hospice and curative care. It’s an important benefit that many families don’t know exists.
What Happens During the Transition?
When you decide to transition from palliative to hospice care, here’s what typically occurs:
Step 1: Hospice Consultation Your doctor refers you to a hospice agency. A hospice nurse and social worker visit your home to explain services, answer questions, and assess your loved one’s needs.
Step 2: Hospice Election If you choose to proceed, you’ll sign a form “electing” the Medicare hospice benefit. This officially starts hospice care. You can revoke this election any time if you change your mind.
Step 3: Care Plan Development The hospice team creates a personalized care plan focusing on comfort, symptom management, and your family’s goals for this time.
Step 4: Services Begin Hospice services typically start within 24 to 48 hours in Oklahoma. Equipment is delivered, medications are provided, and the team begins regular visits.
Step 5: Curative Treatments Stop (For Adults) Treatments aimed at curing or controlling the disease generally stop. However, treatments for comfort can continue. For example, radiation for painful bone cancer might continue if it improves quality of life.
Important: You always have the right to revoke hospice and return to curative treatment. Many patients go on and off hospice multiple times as their condition changes. There’s no penalty for changing your mind.
How to Decide Which Care is Right for You
Choosing between palliative and hospice care can feel overwhelming. Here’s a framework to help guide your decision.
Choose Palliative Care If:
- Your loved one is still pursuing curative or life-prolonging treatment
- The prognosis is uncertain or likely longer than six months
- You want symptom management and support alongside ongoing treatment
- Your loved one has serious illness but is not yet in the terminal phase
- You need help coordinating care between multiple specialists
- Your loved one wants to continue fighting the disease while also managing symptoms
Example: Your mother has Stage 3 breast cancer. She’s doing chemotherapy and radiation, and her oncologist is hopeful for remission. But she’s struggling with pain, fatigue, and nausea. Palliative care can help manage these symptoms while she continues treatment aimed at beating the cancer.
Choose Hospice Care If:
- Curative treatment is no longer effective or wanted
- Two physicians agree prognosis is six months or less
- The focus has shifted from cure to comfort and quality of life
- Your loved one experiences frequent hospitalizations that aren’t helping
- Your family needs intensive support and caregiver assistance
- Your loved one wants to be home with comprehensive comfort care
- Symptom management needs are beyond what regular care can provide
Example: Your father has end-stage COPD. He’s been hospitalized four times this year. His pulmonologist says his lungs are failing and there are no more treatments to try. He’s exhausted from medical interventions and wants to be home, comfortable, and surrounded by family. Hospice can provide that comprehensive support.
Oklahoma Hospice Eligibility Self-Assessment
Ask yourself these questions to help determine if hospice might be appropriate:
- Has your doctor discussed stopping curative treatment?
- Is your loved one experiencing frequent hospitalizations or ER visits?
- Are symptoms (pain, shortness of breath, fatigue) no longer controlled by current treatments?
- Has your loved one expressed desire to stop aggressive medical interventions?
- Does your loved one want to be home rather than in hospitals?
- Is your loved one experiencing significant weight loss or declining function?
- Do you, as a caregiver, feel overwhelmed and in need of more support?
- Has your loved one been given a limited prognosis (six months or less)?
- Are current treatments causing more burden than benefit?
- Would your family benefit from 24/7 nursing support and assistance with personal care?
If you answered “yes” to four or more of these questions, it may be time to talk with your doctor about hospice eligibility. These conversations are never easy, but earlier hospice enrollment often means better symptom control and more meaningful time together.
It’s Okay to Change Your Mind
One of the most important things to understand is that choosing hospice isn’t permanent. You can revoke hospice at any time and return to curative treatment.
Medicare allows unlimited benefit periods with physician recertification. If your loved one improves and no longer meets terminal criteria, hospice can be discontinued. If the condition worsens again later, you can re-elect hospice.
Many Oklahoma families go through multiple hospice elections. Someone might:
- Start hospice when very ill
- Improve significantly and revoke to return to treatment
- Decline again months later and re-elect hospice
- Continue this pattern as the disease fluctuates
There’s no penalty, no judgment, and no limit to how many times you can make these transitions. The goal is always the same: provide the right level of care for where your loved one is right now.
Real Stories from Oklahoma Families
Sarah’s Story: From Palliative to Hospice in Tulsa
Sarah was 62 when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer. Her oncologist at Saint Francis Hospital immediately connected her with the palliative care team to help manage pain and nausea from chemotherapy.
“For 18 months, I did everything,” Sarah said. “Chemo, radiation, clinical trials. The palliative care doctor helped adjust my pain medications and gave me something for nausea that actually worked. I could still live my life while fighting the cancer.”
When the cancer spread to Sarah’s liver and bones despite treatment, her oncologist had a difficult conversation. “He said we could do more chemo, but it probably wouldn’t work and would make me very sick,” Sarah recalled. “Or I could focus on comfort and quality time with my family.”
Sarah chose hospice. “The transition was actually easier than I thought,” her daughter Michelle explained. “Some of the same nurses who helped with palliative care were part of the hospice team. They already knew Mom and what she needed.”
Sarah spent her final three months at home in Tulsa, surrounded by family. “Hospice gave us the gift of time,” Michelle said. “Real time. Not time in hospitals or dealing with side effects. Mom was comfortable, clearheaded, and we got to say everything we needed to say. I’ll always be grateful we made that choice when we did.”
Robert’s Choice: Staying on Palliative Care in Muskogee
Robert had advanced COPD and was in and out of the hospital every few months. At 74, he was oxygen-dependent and increasingly weak. His pulmonologist suggested hospice.
“I wasn’t ready,” Robert said. “I know that sounds stubborn, but I wanted to keep trying.” Robert’s doctor respected his choice and connected him with palliative care instead.
For two years, Robert received palliative support while continuing treatments. The palliative care team helped manage his breathing difficulties, adjusted medications, and coordinated with his specialists. He had several more hospitalizations, but each time he recovered and went home to Muskogee.
“Palliative care gave me time,” Robert explained. “Time to see my grandkids grow up. Time to fish at Fort Gibson Lake a few more times. Time to accept that one day I would need hospice.”
When Robert’s condition worsened significantly at age 76, he made the decision himself. “I’m ready now,” he told his wife. “It’s time for hospice.”
Robert’s family was grateful they had honored his choice to try palliative care first. “Dad needed those two years to come to peace with dying,” his son explained. “If we’d pushed him into hospice before he was ready, I think he would have fought it. This way, when he transitioned, it was his decision. That mattered to him.”
Robert received hospice care at home for four months before passing peacefully with his family around him.
These stories illustrate that there’s no single right path. Sarah’s family benefited from making the hospice transition when curative treatment stopped being effective. Robert’s family benefited from honoring his choice to try palliative care longer. Both were right decisions for those families.
Finding Palliative and Hospice Care in Oklahoma
Tulsa Area Providers
Saint Francis Hospice
- Address: 6600 South Yale Avenue, Tulsa, OK 74136
- Services: Hospice and palliative care
- Coverage: Tulsa, Broken Arrow, Bixby, Jenks, Owasso, and surrounding communities
Traditions Health
- Services: Hospice and home health
- Coverage: Tulsa, Cherokee, Creek, Muskogee, Okmulgee, and Wagoner counties
- Contact: Multiple offices throughout northeast Oklahoma
Elara Caring
- Services: Hospice, home health, and personal care
- Coverage: Tulsa and 11 surrounding counties
- Website: elaracaring.com
Clarehouse
- Address: 7617 South Mingo Road, Tulsa, OK 74133
- Services: Residential hospice and respite care
- Specialty: Short-term residential care for patients without adequate home support
Muskogee Area Providers
Hospice of Green Country - Muskogee Office
- Address: 2307 South York Street, Muskogee, OK 74403
- Services: Hospice care for Muskogee and surrounding counties
- Coverage: Muskogee, Cherokee, Adair, Wagoner counties
Traditions Health - Muskogee
- Services: Hospice care in home and facilities
- Coverage: Muskogee, Fort Gibson, Tahlequah, and surrounding areas
Oklahoma State University Medical Center - Muskogee
- Services: Hospital-based palliative care consultations
- Address: 300 Rockefeller Drive, Muskogee, OK 74401
Statewide Resources
Oklahoma Hospice and Palliative Care Association
- Website: okhospice.org
- Resource: Find hospice providers throughout Oklahoma
- Contact: Information and referrals for families
Oklahoma Health Care Authority (OHCA)
- Website: oklahoma.gov/ohca
- Phone: SoonerCare Helpline 1-800-987-7767
- Services: Information about SoonerCare hospice coverage
Oklahoma Palliative and End-of-Life Care Coalition
- Resources: Education and advocacy for improved palliative and end-of-life care in Oklahoma
- Focus: Increasing access to quality care across the state
How to Start the Conversation with Your Doctor
Many families struggle with how to bring up palliative or hospice care with their doctor. Here are some conversation starters:
About Palliative Care:
- “My loved one is struggling with pain and other symptoms. Would palliative care help?”
- “Can you explain how palliative care could work alongside the current treatment plan?”
- “Is there a palliative care team you recommend here in Tulsa/Muskogee/Oklahoma City?”
About Hospice:
- “How do we know if it’s time to consider hospice care?”
- “What would qualify my loved one for hospice based on the current prognosis?”
- “Can you help me understand what the transition from treatment to hospice would look like?”
- “If we choose hospice, can we change our minds later?”
Remember, good doctors welcome these questions. If your doctor seems dismissive or unwilling to discuss palliative or hospice options, consider seeking a second opinion. You deserve a physician who respects your family’s need for information and support.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is palliative care the same as giving up?
No, absolutely not. Palliative care is about living as well as possible while managing serious illness. You can receive palliative care while still actively pursuing curative treatment. It’s adding an extra layer of support for symptom management and quality of life, not replacing your current medical care or giving up on treatment.
Can you have palliative care and still do chemotherapy?
Yes. This is one of the key differences between palliative and hospice care. Palliative care is specifically designed to work alongside curative treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis, or surgery. The palliative team helps manage side effects and symptoms while you continue fighting the disease.
What if my loved one lives longer than six months on hospice?
Hospice care continues as long as the physician recertifies that your loved one remains terminally ill. Many patients receive hospice for longer than six months through recertification every 60 days. There’s no limit to how long you can receive hospice if the terminal condition persists. Medicare covers unlimited benefit periods.
Does choosing hospice mean no more hospital visits?
Typically, yes. Hospice focuses on comfort care at home rather than hospital-based interventions. However, hospice can provide short-term inpatient care in hospice facilities or hospitals for crisis management or respite care. The goal is to avoid unnecessary hospitalizations that don’t improve quality of life, but emergency comfort care is available when needed.
Will Medicare cover both types of care?
Medicare Part B covers some palliative care services as outpatient care, but you’ll have copays and deductibles. Medicare Part A covers hospice comprehensively with no copays for hospice-related services. You cannot receive both Medicare hospice benefit and curative treatment under Medicare Part A simultaneously (except children under SoonerCare).
Can we change from hospice back to curative treatment?
Yes, absolutely. Patients can revoke the hospice benefit at any time and return to curative care under Medicare Part B. If the condition worsens again, you can re-elect hospice. There’s no penalty for changing your mind, and many patients transition on and off hospice multiple times.
What’s the difference in caregiver support between palliative and hospice?
Hospice provides much more comprehensive caregiver support including hospice aide services for bathing and personal care, respite care to give family caregivers breaks, 24/7 nursing availability, and volunteer support. Palliative care offers less hands-on family support and focuses more on the patient’s symptom management and care coordination.
How quickly can hospice care start after palliative care?
In Oklahoma, hospice can often start within 24 to 48 hours of physician certification and benefit election. Once you elect the hospice benefit, the team moves quickly to deliver equipment, set up medication delivery, and begin nursing visits. Some agencies can start services within hours in urgent situations.
Does SoonerCare cover hospice in Oklahoma?
Yes, SoonerCare (Oklahoma Medicaid) covers comprehensive hospice services for eligible members. Children under 21 on SoonerCare can receive both hospice and curative treatment simultaneously, a unique benefit not available to adults. SoonerCare also covers Medicare copays and deductibles for dual-eligible patients.
Who decides when to transition from palliative to hospice?
The patient and family, in consultation with physicians. Your doctor can provide medical information about prognosis and treatment options, but the decision is ultimately yours. There’s no pressure to transition before you’re ready, and you can take time to consider what’s right for your family.
Next Steps: Getting Support in Oklahoma
If You’re Considering Palliative Care
Talk to Your Doctor: Ask your loved one’s primary care physician or specialist about palliative care consultation. Most major Oklahoma health systems offer palliative care programs.
Check Coverage: Contact Medicare (1-800-MEDICARE) or your insurance to understand what palliative services are covered and what your out-of-pocket costs will be.
Tulsa Families: Contact Saint Francis Health System, Hillcrest Medical Center, or other major hospitals to ask about palliative care programs.
Muskogee Families: Contact Oklahoma State University Medical Center or ask your physician for palliative care referrals in the Muskogee area.
If You’re Considering Hospice
Request Hospice Evaluation: Ask your doctor for a hospice referral. Most physicians in Oklahoma work with multiple hospice agencies and can help you connect with providers.
Meet with Agencies: Most families meet with two or three hospice agencies before choosing. All offer free consultations with no obligation.
Review Coverage: Confirm your Medicare Part A or SoonerCare coverage. Nearly all hospice care is covered with no out-of-pocket cost.
Learn More: Read our detailed guide on hospice eligibility requirements in Oklahoma to understand if your loved one qualifies.
Oklahoma Resources for Families
Oklahoma Health Care Authority
- Website: oklahoma.gov/ohca
- Resources: SoonerCare eligibility, coverage information, provider directories
SoonerCare Member Helpline
- Phone: 1-800-987-7767
- Services: Coverage questions, provider information, eligibility assistance
Medicare Helpline
- Phone: 1-800-MEDICARE (1-800-633-4227)
- Website: medicare.gov
- Services: Coverage information, hospice benefit details, provider search
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
- Website: nhpco.org
- Resources: Education, family support, provider search tool
- CaringInfo: caringinfo.org (consumer resources, advance directives)
Hospice Foundation of America
- Website: hospicefoundation.org
- Resources: Grief support, educational materials, family resources
Understanding the difference between palliative care and hospice is the first step. The next step is having honest conversations with your loved one, your family, and your healthcare providers about what kind of care will best support your family’s goals and values during this difficult time.
Article medically reviewed by Dr. Jennifer Morrison, MD, Board Certified in Hospice and Palliative Medicine with 18+ years of experience in end-of-life care. Dr. Morrison has served as Medical Director for hospice programs in Oklahoma and specializes in helping families navigate complex care decisions.
Many families worry that choosing palliative or hospice care means giving up hope. In reality, both types of care are about hoping for different things: comfort, peace, dignity, and meaningful time together. - Dr. Jennifer Morrison, MD
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