Home Health Agencies vs Hospice: What’s the Difference?

Home Health Agencies deliver skilled nursing, therapy, and aide services in the home, while hospice provide comfort-focused end-of-life care wherever a patient calls home. This comparison explains how the two settings differ, what CMS data says about each, and how to choose.

Setting	deliver skilled nursing, therapy, and aide services in the home
Typical focus	Home Health Agencies focus on clinical and residential care needs.
What CMS publishes	Five-Star ratings for many providers, inspections, fines, staffing, ownership.
Providers in this directory	12,460 Medicare-certified · avg CMS rating 3.2/5 among rated

What home health agencies are

Home health agencies deliver skilled nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and home health aide services in the place a patient calls home. Medicare certifies agencies that meet federal standards, and CMS publishes quality measures for each agency.

What hospice are

Hospice programs provide comfort-focused, palliative care for people with a terminal illness, typically in the home. Services include nursing, aide support, counseling, and respite care for family caregivers. Medicare-certified hospices must meet federal conditions of participation.

How to choose

When comparing home health agencies, ask how quickly care can start after a hospital discharge, how scheduling and supervision work, and how the agency tracks patient outcomes such as improved mobility and reduced rehospitalization. When comparing hospice programs, ask about on-call nursing availability, response times, respite care, bereavement support, and how the team coordinates with the patient's physician and family.

Start by comparing CMS Five-Star ratings, which summarize health inspections, staffing, and quality measures. A high overall rating is a useful signal, but read the underlying inspection findings and staffing figures too - they show what is behind the score.

Visit candidates in the United States when possible, ask how care plans are set and reviewed, and confirm costs, coverage, and availability in writing. Staffing consistency and clear family communication matter as much as any published score.

Browse providers

Home Health Agencies directory (12,460 providers) · Hospice directory (6,669 providers)

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between home health agencies and hospice?

Home Health Agencies deliver skilled nursing, therapy, and aide services in the home. Hospice provide comfort-focused end-of-life care wherever a patient calls home. They serve different needs and are regulated under different Medicare conditions, so compare them by the level of care a person requires.

Does Medicare cover both home health agencies and hospice?

Yes - both care types in this directory are Medicare-certified. Coverage rules, eligibility, and cost sharing differ by setting and situation. Confirm details with the provider and at Medicare.gov.

How should I choose between them?

Start with the person's medical needs. When comparing home health agencies, ask how quickly care can start after a hospital discharge, how scheduling and supervision work, and how the agency tracks patient outcomes such as improved mobility and reduced rehospitalization. When comparing hospice programs, ask about on-call nursing availability, response times, respite care, bereavement support, and how the team coordinates with the patient's physician and family.

Data sources

Source: CMS Provider Data Catalog. Processing date: 2026-10-06. This comparison is informational and is not medical advice.

Important disclosures

Informational only, not medical advice. This directory publishes public data and general information. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment recommendations, and it is not a substitute for consulting a qualified health care professional or Medicare.

Not affiliated. FacilityDirectory.org is an independent, privately operated directory. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or operated by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), Medicare, or any government agency. CMS has not reviewed or endorsed this site.

Verify before you act. Facility information is derived from public federal datasets and may lag or contain errors. Always confirm current ratings, services, availability, and coverage directly with the provider and at Medicare.gov.

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