This article describes a study by Abt Associates in partnership with Brown University Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research, for CMS examining how often Medicare Beneficiaries are discharged from hospice care alive instead of dead. Live discharges from hospice can occur because patients decide to resume curative care, their condition improves, or hospices may inappropriately use live discharge to avoid costly hospitalizations. Approximately 1 in 5 hospice patients are discharged alive with variation by geographic regions and hospice programs.