Hospice Care in Virginia Beach, Virginia

Hospice Care in Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads

Virginia Beach is the most populous city in Virginia and a key anchor of Hampton Roads — the large coastal metropolitan area at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. The Hampton Roads metro encompasses Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, and Newport News, together forming one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Mid-Atlantic. Virginia Beach itself spans a large and varied geographic footprint: dense resort and residential communities in the northern Oceanfront corridor and the Great Neck and Kempsville neighborhoods, spreading south and west through suburban areas and into the rural agricultural lands of the Princess Anne district near the North Carolina border. This diversity of terrain and population density shapes the logistics of hospice delivery across the region.

One defining feature of Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads is the extraordinary concentration of active-duty military personnel and veterans. Naval Station Norfolk — the largest naval base in the world — Naval Air Station Oceana, Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek–Fort Story, and Langley Air Force Base in Hampton collectively make Hampton Roads the highest-density active-duty military metro in the United States. This means VA hospice benefits, military benefit coordination, and experience serving families with complex multi-state care histories are uniquely important considerations when choosing a hospice provider in this region. BestHospice.com lists partner providers by ZIP code so families can quickly identify agencies actively serving their neighborhood.

Hampton Roads Health Systems and Hospice Transitions

Most Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads hospice transitions begin with a referral from a hospital discharge planner, palliative care team, or oncologist. Families always have the right to choose any licensed hospice provider, regardless of which agency a hospital recommends. The region's major health systems include:

Sentara Healthcare is the dominant health system in Hampton Roads, operating Sentara Norfolk General Hospital (a Level I trauma center and the regional flagship academic hospital, affiliated with Eastern Virginia Medical School), Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, Sentara Princess Anne Hospital, Sentara Leigh Hospital in Norfolk, Sentara Careplex Hospital in Hampton, Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, and extensive outpatient facilities across the region. Sentara's palliative care program coordinates hospice transitions across the network. Sentara's Optima Health subsidiary is also a major Medicaid managed care plan operating throughout the Hampton Roads area.

Bon Secours Mercy Health operates Bon Secours DePaul Medical Center and Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital in the Hampton Roads area, providing hospital-based hospice transition pathways for patients in the northern Hampton Roads communities.

Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters (CHKD) in Norfolk is the only freestanding children's hospital in Virginia. CHKD operates a pediatric palliative care program for children with life-limiting illness, providing a critical resource for families navigating serious illness in younger patients across the entire Hampton Roads region.

Eastern Virginia Medical School (EVMS) — now part of Virginia's integrated medical education system — is affiliated with Sentara Norfolk General and supports academic medicine and palliative care education across the region. The Hampton VA Medical Center in Hampton is one of the oldest facilities in the VA system and serves as a primary care and long-term care center for veterans across southeastern Virginia, making it a critical source of hospice transitions for the region's large veteran population.

Medicare and Virginia Medicaid CCC Plus Coverage

Medicare Part A covers hospice for eligible Virginia Beach-area patients with a physician-certified prognosis of six months or less. In 2026, covered services include all nursing visits, comfort medications for the terminal diagnosis, medical equipment delivered to the home (hospital bed, oxygen concentrator, wheelchair, commode), home health aide visits, social work, chaplain services, and bereavement counseling for the family for up to 13 months after death — most at $0 out-of-pocket cost to the patient or family.

Virginia Medicaid covers hospice for qualifying residents through the Commonwealth Coordinated Care Plus (CCC Plus) program, which provides managed long-term services and supports for dual-eligible individuals and Medicaid-eligible people who need long-term care. CCC Plus managed care organizations serving Hampton Roads include Aetna Better Health of Virginia, Anthem HealthKeepers Plus, Magellan Complete Care of Virginia, Molina Healthcare of Virginia, and Optima Health Community Care (Sentara). Families enrolled in CCC Plus should ask their prospective hospice provider to explain how CCC Plus enrollment interacts with hospice benefits before enrolling.

Medicare Advantage plans are widely available in the Hampton Roads market through carriers including UnitedHealthcare, Humana, Aetna, Anthem, and Optima Health — all are required to cover hospice at the same level as traditional Medicare Part A. Free Medicare counseling is available through VICAP (Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program), Virginia's SHIP program administered through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). VICAP counselors provide free, unbiased guidance on hospice benefits, CCC Plus interaction with hospice, and Medicare Advantage plan comparisons across Virginia.

Virginia Hospice Laws, Licensing & Benefits

No Certificate of Need Requirement. Virginia does not require a Certificate of Need for hospice licensure. Any provider that meets Virginia Department of Health (VDH) licensing requirements and achieves Medicare certification may operate as a hospice in Virginia. This means the Hampton Roads market has a broader range of licensed hospice providers than comparable CON states, and families generally have more agency options from which to choose.

Hospice Licensing Authority. Virginia licenses hospice providers through the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), Office of Licensure and Certification. All Medicare-certified Virginia hospice providers meet VDH licensing standards as a condition of federal certification. Families can verify a provider's license status through the VDH Office of Licensure and Certification.

Virginia Advance Directive. Virginia uses the Virginia Advance Directive, a combined document that designates a healthcare agent and records the patient's written instructions regarding life-sustaining treatment (functioning as both a healthcare power of attorney and a living will). This document can be completed at any time — no attorney is required — and should be on file with the hospice provider, the patient's physician, and any facilities where the patient receives care.

Virginia POLST. The Virginia POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a portable medical order for patients with serious illness, formalized in Virginia state law in 2018. Unlike the Advance Directive, which records a patient's preferences, the POLST is a signed physician order that travels with the patient and is immediately actionable by hospice teams, hospital emergency departments, and emergency medical responders. Hospice nurses and social workers routinely help families complete or update the Virginia POLST as part of the enrollment and care planning process.

Free Medicare Counseling (VICAP). Virginia's State Health Insurance Assistance Program is called VICAP (Virginia Insurance Counseling and Assistance Program), administered through the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS). VICAP counselors provide free, unbiased Medicare counseling to Virginia residents — including guidance on hospice benefits, how CCC Plus interacts with Medicare hospice, and comparison of Medicare Advantage plans. VICAP services have no connection to any insurance company or hospice provider and are available at no cost to Virginia Beach-area families.

How to Choose a Hospice Provider in Virginia Beach

Virginia Beach and Hampton Roads have a competitive hospice market — families typically have multiple licensed providers to choose from. These are the questions that matter most:

• Do they serve your specific ZIP code? Virginia Beach spans from the dense Oceanfront in the north to rural Princess Anne in the south. A provider active in Kempsville may not be staffed in the southern agricultural areas near the North Carolina border. Confirm service area before calling.
• Do they have VA contract experience? Hampton Roads has the highest concentration of active-duty military and veterans of any US metro area. If your loved one is a veteran, ask whether the provider holds a VA contract, has experience coordinating with the Hampton VA Medical Center, and understands how VA hospice benefits can interact with Medicare hospice.
• How quickly can they respond? For discharges from Sentara Norfolk General, Sentara Virginia Beach General, or Sentara Princess Anne, ask how quickly intake and the first nursing visit can occur. Same-day or next-day starts are often possible.
• What is their experience with your loved one's diagnosis? Cancer, dementia, heart failure, COPD, and other serious diagnoses each have distinct symptom management needs. Ask specifically about clinical experience with your diagnosis.
• Do they have 24/7 nurse access? Confirm that a live registered nurse — not a voicemail or answering service — can be reached for urgent calls at any hour, including nights and weekends.
• How do they handle inpatient needs? If symptoms cannot be managed at home, where would your loved one receive inpatient hospice care? Confirm the provider has an active inpatient arrangement before enrolling.
• Can they navigate military benefit coordination? Families whose care history spans multiple states and military treatment facilities benefit from providers experienced with military family dynamics and benefit structures.

Full guide: How to choose a hospice provider →

Frequently Asked Questions — Hospice Care in Virginia Beach

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