Boise Senior AdvisorWhat is the difference between home health and hospice?
Home health is skilled nursing and therapy at home to help someone recover or stabilize; hospice is comfort-focused care for someone with a life expectancy of six months or less who has chosen not to pursue curative treatment for that illness.
CMS's provider files list 10 Medicare-certified home health agencies and 17 hospice providers with offices in the Treasure Valley, most of them in Meridian and Boise; agencies serve clients well beyond their office city.
Can hospice or home health come to an assisted living facility in Boise?
Yes: both can serve residents of a RALF or certified family home, and Idaho's admission agreement must disclose any restriction on the resident's choice of home health or hospice provider.
Ask whether the building has agencies it works with regularly and whether you may choose another.
Who pays for home health and hospice in Idaho?
Medicare pays for both when the eligibility rules are met; Idaho Medicaid and many private plans also cover them.
Neither benefit pays for room and board in a facility or for round-the-clock private aides.
Can someone switch from home health to hospice in Idaho?
Yes: when the goal of care changes from recovery to comfort and a doctor certifies a life expectancy of six months or less, a patient can stop home health and elect hospice, and can later revoke hospice if they choose curative treatment again.
The change often happens after repeated hospital stays. A hospice informational visit costs nothing and does not commit the family, and it is a good way to understand what the team would provide.
How do we choose among Treasure Valley home health and hospice agencies?
Compare how quickly each agency can start care, how after-hours calls are handled, and, for home health, the CMS quality of patient care stars shown in our directory.
Ask a hospice how often the nurse and aide visit, whether a chaplain and social worker are included, and whether it can provide continuous care during a crisis. Ask a home health agency which therapies it staffs and how soon the first visit happens after discharge.
Can hospice and home health both serve someone in a Boise nursing home?
Hospice can serve a long-term nursing home resident, with the hospice team working alongside the home's staff; home health does not visit nursing home residents, because the nursing home itself provides skilled care.
In assisted living both are possible, since a RALF is the resident's home. Ask the RALF which agencies it works with and how it coordinates visits with its own caregivers.
Side by side
| Home health | Hospice | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Recovery or stability | Comfort and quality of life |
| Eligibility | Homebound, needs skilled care | Life expectancy six months or less |
| Visits | Intermittent skilled visits | Team visits plus on-call support |
Drawn from IDAPA 16.03.22, Idaho Code 39-33, IDHW and Idaho Commission on Aging publications, CareScout, CMS and the VA; our editorial standards explain how we check them.
