Hospice care designed around the veteran experience.
From World War II to the Global War on Terror, every generation of veterans deserves hospice care that recognizes what service costs and what service means. This page describes the planned veteran-focused program the Vetted Care × Lily Hospice partnership is being designed to deliver.
Care that understands the uniform.
Veterans face the end of life differently. The memories, the wounds — visible and not — and the bonds with brothers and sisters in arms shape this final season. A hospice team that does not understand the military experience can miss what matters most.
The Vetted Care partnership is being built by veterans, for veterans. The program design recognizes service-connected conditions, supports the spiritual and emotional weight of military memory, and honors the rituals that mark a life of service. Clinical delivery will be by Lily Hospice under its Michigan license and Medicare certification.
Coverage that recognizes your service.
Most veterans qualify for hospice care through more than one pathway. Below is an overview of the benefits that apply — the same benefits Lily Hospice already navigates for veteran patients today.
VA Hospice Benefit
Veterans enrolled in the VA health care system are entitled to hospice care as part of the standard medical benefits package. There is no copay for hospice services through the VA.
Hospice care may be provided through VA medical centers, contracted community hospice agencies, or VA-paid community providers. The partnership’s veteran-family liaison function will help navigate this directly.
Medicare Hospice Benefit
Veterans with Medicare Part A coverage qualify for the Medicare hospice benefit, which covers all hospice-related care, medications, equipment, and supplies at no out-of-pocket cost — delivered by a Medicare-certified hospice such as Lily Hospice.
Veterans can use the Medicare hospice benefit and still receive other VA services unrelated to the terminal diagnosis. The interplay is something the planned veteran-family liaison will help explain.
Conditions hospice frequently supports.
Service exposures can shape the medical journey decades after discharge. These are the kinds of conditions a veteran-focused care plan must be ready to recognize when the partnership is operational.
Respiratory & Lung
COPD, pulmonary fibrosis, and lung cancers associated with burn pit, Agent Orange, and asbestos exposures.
Cardiac
Congestive heart failure and advanced cardiovascular disease, often shaped by deployment-era stressors.
Cancer
Service-related cancers including those connected to Agent Orange, burn pit exposure, and ionizing radiation.
Neurological
ALS (presumptive for many veterans), Parkinson’s disease, and dementia with veteran-specific care considerations.
Mental Health & PTSD
End-of-life can surface combat memories. The partnership will coordinate with chaplains and clinicians experienced in moral injury and combat trauma.
Multi-System Decline
The cumulative effect of service and aging. Care planning will address the whole veteran, not just the most prominent diagnosis.
Pinning ceremonies and recognition.
A military pinning ceremony is a small, profound moment: a few words of thanks, a pin, a salute, the presence of family. For many veterans, it is the first time someone outside their immediate circle has formally honored their service.
When operational, the partnership will offer pinning ceremonies for every veteran in its care, coordinated to fit the family’s wishes — quiet bedside, large family gathering, or anything in between.
Planned pinning ceremony elements
- Recognition of branch of service and years served
- A certificate of appreciation
- A service pin presented by a fellow veteran when possible
- An invitation to family and friends to be present
- A photograph for the family
Planned program element. Will be available to veterans enrolled with the partnership when it is operational.
If you need hospice care today, call Lily Hospice.
The Vetted Care veteran-focused program is being built. Lily Hospice is Medicare-certified and accepting patients today — including veterans — across its Michigan service area.
☎ Lily Hospice: (248) 955-5100For partnership inquiries or to be notified when the veteran-focused program launches, please contact Vetted Care.