Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team. Updated September 2026.
Short answer: A veteran in metro Detroit can receive hospice at home, in assisted living or in a nursing facility from any Medicare-certified hospice, and Lily Hospice in Troy has a veteran-specific program built for it: a Veteran Rapid Response team led by a nurse who served as a Navy Hospital Corpsman, a Veteran Advisory Committee of local veterans who shape how we care, We Honor Veterans participation, help with VA benefits, and pinning ceremonies. We serve Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Call (248) 955-5100, 24 hours a day. Lily is not veteran-owned; we say so plainly because it matters to some families.
Who pays: Medicare, the VA, or both?
Most veterans over 65 have Medicare, and the Medicare hospice benefit covers hospice care in full for most families, regardless of VA enrollment. Veterans who get their care through the VA can also be referred for hospice in the community through VA authorization; the VA continues to cover service-connected needs alongside hospice. Lily accepts VA-authorized care, Medicare, Medicaid and most commercial plans. Our social worker checks which path fits and helps with VA paperwork, including Aid and Attendance and burial benefits, so the family is not doing it alone.
What is different about hospice for a veteran
End of life can bring back what a veteran has carried for decades. Combat memories, survivor’s guilt, exposure-related illness, a reluctance to accept help, and, for Vietnam-era veterans especially, a history of not being thanked. Good veteran hospice care knows this before the first visit.
- A military history is taken at admission, so the care plan reflects where and when the veteran served, not only the diagnosis.
- Veteran-to-veteran visits. Volunteers who served visit those who served. Our Veteran Advisory Committee, made up of local veterans, guides this program.
- A Veteran Rapid Response team for the veteran who needs care fast, led by a nurse case manager who was a Navy Hospital Corpsman.
- Pinning and recognition ceremonies, with family present, when the veteran wants one.
- Trauma-aware symptom care. Some medications and situations can surface PTSD; our nurses plan around it.
- Bereavement support for the family for more than a year.
Where care happens
Wherever the veteran lives: a private home in Warren or Livonia, an assisted living apartment in Rochester Hills, a memory care unit in Dearborn, a skilled nursing facility in Detroit. Lily does not operate an inpatient unit; for the rare situation that needs one, we arrange it with a partner facility. Families near the John D. Dingell VA Medical Center in Detroit or the Ann Arbor VA sometimes ask whether they must use a VA facility for hospice; they do not, and most veterans choose to stay home.
How to start
- Call (248) 955-5100. A real person answers at any hour. Tell us he or she is a veteran.
- A nurse evaluates, usually within 24 hours, at home or in the facility.
- If the veteran is VA-enrolled, we coordinate with the VA for authorization while care begins under Medicare where eligible, so no one waits on paperwork.
Veterans and families who are not sure it is time can use our free guide, “Is It Time?”, or the self-check.
Choosing among veteran-friendly hospices
Several metro Detroit hospices participate in We Honor Veterans, and a family should ask each one the same questions: Who leads your veterans program, and did they serve? Do you take a military history at admission? Will a veteran volunteer visit? How do you handle VA authorization? And what does Medicare’s public data say about your visits in the last days of life? Every hospice serving the three counties is in our metro Detroit hospice directory with its Care Compare numbers; Lily’s are there on the same terms.
More on our program: Hospice care for veterans at Lily.
Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.