Can hospice come to my dad’s assisted living or memory care in metro Detroit?
Written and reviewed by the Lily Hospice clinical team. Updated October 2026.
Yes. Hospice comes to wherever your dad lives, and assisted living and memory care count. Medicare pays for the hospice care; the facility keeps providing his room, meals and daily help; and the hospice team adds nurse visits, aide visits, equipment, medications and 24-hour on-call support in his own apartment. Lily Hospice in Troy serves residents in facilities across Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties; about seven in ten of the patients we care for live in assisted living, memory care or a nursing facility. Call (248) 955-5100 and ask whether we serve your dad’s building; the answer is almost always yes.
What changes, and what doesn’t
What stays the same: his apartment, his caregivers, his routine, his room-and-board bill. What is added, at no cost under Medicare: a hospice nurse who visits regularly and is on call around the clock, a hospice aide for bathing and personal care, a social worker and chaplain for him and for you, a hospital bed, oxygen and other equipment delivered to his room, comfort medications delivered to the facility, and a physician overseeing the plan of care with the facility’s own team.
How hospice and the facility work together
The facility remains his home and its staff remain his daily caregivers. Our nurse writes the plan of care with the facility nurse, our aide schedules around the facility’s routine, and we train facility staff on comfort measures for his condition. Families usually notice two things first: the phone calls to them get calmer, and the 2 a.m. emergencies get handled in the building instead of in an ambulance.
Who pays for what in Michigan
This is the question families ask most, and the answer depends on where your dad lives. Michigan does not license “assisted living” as such: most communities are licensed as a home for the aged or an adult foster care home, and some are unlicensed apartments with services.
| Where he lives | Hospice care (nurse, aide, medications, equipment) | Room, meals and daily help |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted living, memory care, home for the aged or adult foster care | Medicare, Medicaid or his insurance pays the hospice. The family usually pays nothing. | The same monthly bill as before, paid the same way. Medicare does not pay room and board. Long-term-care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance or the MI Choice waiver may help some families with care costs. |
| Nursing home, paying privately | Medicare pays the hospice. | The family keeps paying the nursing home’s daily rate. |
| Nursing home, on Medicaid | Medicare or Medicaid pays the hospice. | Medicaid keeps covering room and board; the payment is routed through the hospice to the nursing home. His patient-pay amount does not change because of hospice. |
| Nursing home, on a short Medicare rehab stay | Medicare pays the hospice once he chooses it. | Medicare generally will not pay for skilled rehab and hospice for the same illness at the same time, so room and board becomes private pay or Medicaid. Ask before you sign, so the bill is not a surprise. |
The details are in hospice and long-term-care Medicaid in Michigan and how much hospice costs in Michigan, and our hospice cost calculator estimates your own situation. Free, unbiased counseling is available from MI Options at 800-803-7174.
You choose the hospice, not the building
Facilities often suggest a hospice they already know, and that can be a good suggestion. But the choice belongs to the resident and family: you may pick any Medicare-certified hospice that serves the address. A nursing home must have a written agreement with any hospice that cares for its residents, so if the one you want is not yet on its list, ask both to set one up. Compare the hospices serving your dad’s ZIP code with our hospice finder, and bring the printable scorecard to the conversation.
If you ever feel a facility is limiting your choice or not working with the hospice, the Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes, homes for the aged and adult foster care homes, free of charge, at 1-866-485-9393.
Memory care specifically
Dementia is the most common diagnosis among our facility patients. Our dementia hospice page covers eligibility, the signs that it may be time, and how we manage agitation, swallowing changes and infections in place, so residents are not sent to the hospital for care that can be given in their room.
The questions to ask any hospice
Do you currently serve this building? How often will a nurse visit, and who covers nights and weekends? Will the same aide come each time? How do you communicate with facility staff and with me? What happens if he needs more care than the facility can give? A good hospice answers all five without hesitating.
Where we serve facilities
Rochester Hills, Troy, Sterling Heights, Royal Oak, Southfield and throughout Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties. Facility staff can send a referral through our professional referral page.
Still choosing a home? Our free assisted living and adult foster care directory lists every licensed home for the aged and adult foster care home serving seniors in Oakland, Macomb and Wayne counties.
Looking for a hospice facility instead of care at home? See hospice facilities and hospice houses in metro Detroit.
Common questions
Does Medicare pay for room and board in assisted living while on hospice?
No. Medicare pays the hospice for hospice care, but it never pays room and board in assisted living, memory care, a home for the aged or adult foster care. The monthly bill continues as before. Long-term-care insurance, VA Aid and Attendance or Michigan’s MI Choice waiver may help some families.
Can the assisted living or nursing home choose the hospice for us?
No. A facility can recommend a hospice, but the resident and family choose, and may pick any Medicare-certified hospice that serves the address. Nursing homes need a written agreement with the hospice; if yours is not yet on the list, ask both to arrange one.
Who do I call if the facility and the hospice are not working together?
Start with the hospice nurse and the facility’s director of nursing. If that does not resolve it, the Michigan Long Term Care Ombudsman advocates for residents of nursing homes, homes for the aged and adult foster care homes at 1-866-485-9393, at no cost.
Questions? Call (248) 955-5100. A real person answers 24 hours a day. Hospice isn’t giving up. It’s showing up.