Hospice Care in Phoenix, Arizona

Hospice Care in Phoenix and the Valley of the Sun

Phoenix is the capital and largest city of Arizona, anchoring the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area — widely called the Valley of the Sun or simply "the Valley." The metro spans more than 14,000 square miles and includes Mesa, Chandler, Scottsdale, Gilbert, Glendale, Tempe, Peoria, Surprise, Goodyear, and dozens of other communities. Maricopa County's population has grown by millions over the past two decades and is now among the three largest counties by population in the United States. That rapid growth includes a large and rapidly expanding senior population, concentrated especially in planned retirement communities such as Sun City, Sun City West, Sun City Grand, Vistancia in Peoria, and Corte Bella in Surprise. These communities collectively represent tens of thousands of retirees, and the demand for high-quality hospice and palliative care in the West Valley alone rivals that of many mid-sized American cities.

The Phoenix metro's scale creates a unique hospice landscape. Families often need to evaluate providers based on geographic coverage zones — an agency headquartered in central Phoenix may or may not staff the far West Valley or the southeast communities of Gilbert and Queen Creek with equal density. The Valley's significant Latino population, which represents more than 40% of Maricopa County residents, has driven most larger hospice agencies to maintain bilingual Spanish-English clinical staff and culturally responsive bereavement programs. The metro also hosts a large seasonal population of snowbirds — retirees who live in Arizona during the winter months and in northern states during the summer — and Phoenix hospice agencies are generally experienced in managing the clinical and administrative complexity of caring for patients whose primary physicians are located in other states.

Major Health Systems and Hospice Transitions in Phoenix

Banner Health is the dominant health system in the Phoenix metro and one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States. Its Arizona footprint includes Banner University Medical Center Phoenix (a Level I trauma center and major teaching hospital on the campus of the University of Arizona College of Medicine — Phoenix), Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Banner Boswell Medical Center in Sun City, Banner Del E. Webb Medical Center in Sun City West, Banner Estrella Medical Center in the southwest Valley, and Banner Gateway Medical Center in Gilbert, among others. Banner's integrated palliative care program coordinates hospice referrals and transitions across all of these facilities, and many patients and families first encounter the hospice conversation through Banner's inpatient palliative care teams.

Dignity Health — now operating under CommonSpirit Health — runs St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in central Phoenix, which is home to the Barrow Neurological Institute, one of the world's largest neurological disease treatment and research centers. Patients with diagnoses including ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), Parkinson's disease, brain tumors, and advanced stroke frequently transition to hospice from Barrow, where palliative care specialists work alongside neurologists. HonorHealth operates Scottsdale Osborn Medical Center, Scottsdale Shea Medical Center, Scottsdale Thompson Peak Medical Center, John C. Lincoln Medical Center in north Phoenix, and Deer Valley Medical Center, serving the northeast Valley and north Phoenix corridor with a comprehensive palliative care program. Mayo Clinic Arizona, located in Scottsdale, is a nationally ranked academic medical center with a large cancer program and a dedicated palliative medicine team that helps complex oncology and other patients plan for end-of-life care. Valleywise Health (formerly Maricopa Integrated Health System) is the public safety-net hospital for Maricopa County and serves a high proportion of uninsured and Medicaid patients, including those who rely on AHCCCS and ALTCS for coverage of long-term care services.

The University of Arizona Cancer Center at Banner University Medical Center Phoenix, alongside the cancer programs at Mayo Clinic Arizona and HonorHealth's Virginia G. Piper Cancer Center, means that oncology-related hospice transitions are common across the Valley. Families navigating a loved one's transition from active cancer treatment to comfort-focused care will find that most of these systems have social workers and palliative care nurses specifically trained to explain the hospice election and make warm referrals to community hospice agencies.

Medicare and Arizona Medicaid Coverage in Phoenix

Medicare covers hospice services for beneficiaries who have a terminal prognosis of six months or less if the illness runs its expected course, and who choose to forgo curative treatment in favor of comfort-focused care. Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, the hospice agency provides an interdisciplinary team — physician, nurse, social worker, chaplain, home health aide, and volunteer — along with all medications, equipment, and supplies related to the terminal diagnosis. There are no copayments or deductibles for Medicare hospice. For Phoenix-area residents enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans through carriers such as UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, or Banner University Health Plans, those plans must provide the same hospice benefit as Original Medicare; the managed care plan may offer additional supplemental benefits on top of the standard Medicare coverage.

For low-income Phoenix-area residents who qualify for both Medicare and Arizona Medicaid, ALTCS (Arizona Long-Term Care System) is the relevant program. ALTCS is administered by AHCCCS (Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System), and enrollment is through AHCCCS managed care plans including Aetna Better Health of Arizona, Banner University Health Plans, Care1st Health Plan Arizona, Molina Healthcare of Arizona, and UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Arizona. When a dual-eligible patient elects the Medicare Hospice Benefit, Medicare becomes the primary payer for hospice services. ALTCS may continue to cover room and board costs for patients residing in a nursing facility who are otherwise Medicaid-eligible — a critical distinction for Phoenix-area families whose loved one is in a skilled nursing facility or assisted living community. Arizona's free SHIP (State Health Insurance Assistance Program) counselors, administered through the Arizona Department of Economic Security's Division of Aging and Adult Services, can help families in the Phoenix area understand exactly how Medicare and ALTCS interact for their specific situation. SHIP counseling is free and unbiased.

Arizona Hospice Laws, Licensing & Benefits

All hospice providers operating in Arizona must be licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS), Division of Licensing Services. Providers seeking Medicare reimbursement must additionally be certified by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), which requires meeting federal Conditions of Participation for hospice. Medicare certification and ADHS licensure are effectively intertwined — meeting federal standards satisfies the core of state licensing requirements. Families can verify a Phoenix-area hospice agency's license status through the ADHS licensing portal.

Arizona is one of a majority of states that does not require a Certificate of Need (CON) for hospice licensure. CON laws, where they exist, require a provider to prove to the state that a new hospice program is needed before it can open. The absence of a CON requirement in Arizona means the market is open and competitive — any provider meeting licensing and certification standards may operate, and families in the Phoenix metro generally have a wide selection of both large national agencies and smaller locally owned hospice organizations to choose from.

Arizona recognizes several important advance directive instruments. The Pre-Hospital Medical Care Directive — informally called the "orange form" because it is printed on bright orange paper — is a physician-signed document instructing emergency medical personnel not to resuscitate the patient outside a hospital setting. This form must be signed by a physician and is distinct from a hospital DNR. The Arizona Healthcare Power of Attorney designates an agent to make healthcare decisions when the patient cannot speak for themselves. Arizona also uses the POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment), a portable physician order that travels with the patient across care settings — from home to emergency department to nursing facility — and specifies preferences for resuscitation, mechanical ventilation, and artificial nutrition. Hospice intake teams in Phoenix will review and help complete or update all of these documents at the time of admission, and they will advise families on where to post the orange form at home so that emergency responders honor the patient's wishes.

How to Choose a Hospice Provider in Phoenix

• Confirm geographic coverage. The Phoenix metro spans a large area. Ask specifically whether the agency regularly staffs your zip code or community — Sun City, Gilbert, and Laveen have very different service density than central Phoenix or Scottsdale.
• Ask about after-hours response times. Crisis situations arise at night and on weekends. Ask the agency: how quickly will a nurse be at my home if something happens at 2 a.m.? Request specifics, not generalities.
• Inquire about bilingual staff. If Spanish is the primary language of the patient or family, confirm that the clinical team — nurses, social workers, chaplains — can communicate fluently in Spanish, not just at intake.
• Understand how they serve retirement communities. If your loved one is in Sun City, Sun City West, or Sun City Grand, ask whether the agency has an established relationship with staff and care managers at those communities' medical facilities and the Banner Boswell or Banner Del E. Webb hospitals.
• Evaluate the inpatient hospice option. Some Phoenix-area agencies operate or contract with dedicated inpatient hospice units for patients whose symptoms cannot be managed at home. Ask where inpatient care would be provided if needed.
• Snowbird coordination. If the patient splits time between Arizona and another state, ask how the agency handles the administrative and clinical coordination with out-of-state physicians and how a transfer to a different state's hospice provider would be managed.
• Verify Medicare certification and ADHS licensure. Confirm the agency is Medicare-certified and holds a current ADHS license. Both can be verified independently.
• Ask about bereavement support. Medicare requires hospice agencies to provide bereavement services to the family for at least 13 months after the patient's death. Ask what the program looks like — phone calls, in-person visits, support groups — and whether it is provided by clinical staff or contracted out.

Full guide: How to choose a hospice provider →

Frequently Asked Questions — Hospice Care in Phoenix

Other cities in the Phoenix metro

• Hospice Care in Scottsdale, AZ
• Hospice Care in Mesa, AZ
• Hospice Care in Gilbert, AZ
• Hospice Care in Glendale, AZ
• Hospice Care in Goodyear, AZ
• Hospice Care in Fountain Hills, AZ
• All Arizona Hospice Providers

Find hospice providers in Phoenix

Use BestHospice.com to search and compare Medicare-certified hospice agencies serving Phoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Glendale, Sun City, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, Surprise, Goodyear, and communities throughout the Valley of the Sun. Compare coverage areas, services, and contact information side by side.