When you donate to a hospice, you cannot be sure that donations made to the local hospice will actually be used for the purpose you designate. Even if you designate a purpose, there are legal tricks of the trade, or accounting, which can make it possible for a hospice to shift the donated money or other money to other purposes than what you wished. Although there are laws stating that restricted donations must be used for the purpose designated by the donor, certain recent court cases have challenged the strictness with which these laws are enforced. Practically speaking, the government does not always look into what a hospice may do with any donations. While donating directly to a nonprofit hospice allows you to claim a charitable federal tax deduction, you can only be sure that your money is used for a particular purpose if you personally buy something and donate it to the hospice .
Some hospices have several branch locations covering a large area.
For-profit hospices have no obligation to provide services to anyone who does not have coverage from Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance. They can turn people away and tell people to go elsewhere. Whether or not your loved one has Medicare, Medicaid or private insurance, you should never have to pay out of your own pocket for hospice covered services. It is important that you report this to your regional U.S. Office of Inspector General and U.S. Attorney's office. Double-billing is a very real and despicable scam committed by rogue hospices taking advantage of the dying.