How long you can get hospice care. Hospice care is for people with a life expectancy of 6 months or less (if the illness runs its normal course). If you live longer than 6 months, you can still get hospice care, as long as the hospice medical director or other hospice doctor recertifies that you’re terminally ill. 1  You can get hospice care for two 90-day benefit periods, followed by an unlimited number of 60-day benefit periods.