Hospice quality, by ownership

Hospice is now a majority for-profit industry. On CMS's own measures, non-profit hospices reach more patients in their final days — 64% vs 59% (median) on visits near death — and edge ahead on the composite Hospice Care Index. The gaps are real but modest; the variation within each group is larger.

Ownership	Hospices	Hospice Care Index (med, /10)	Visits in last days of life (med)
For-Profit	3,892	9	59%
Non-Profit	791	10	64%

Every hospice's own measures are on its profile — for a decision this personal, look at the specific provider, not the category.

Read this carefully: End-of-life care is deeply contextual; case-mix, geography, and patient preferences vary. System-level pattern only — families should look at a specific hospice's own measures, which we publish on every profile.

Source: CMS Care Compare, Hospice quality measures (Hospice Care Index, visits near death), by ownership. Computed 2026-06-12; reproducible from the analysis code against the files hashed on the methodology page.

In care this personal, the difference is whether anyone is watching the data closely enough to notice a patient who needs one more visit.

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