++
Title 42 Chapter IV Part 418 - Subpart F - Covered Services
++
§ 418.200—Requirements for coverage.
++
To be covered, hospice services must meet the following requirements. They must be reasonable and necessary for the palliation and management of the terminal illness as well as related conditions. The individual must elect hospice care in accordance with § 418.24. A plan of care must be established and periodically reviewed by the attending physician, the medical director, and the interdisciplinary group of the hospice program as set forth in § 418.56. That plan of care must be established before hospice care is provided. The services provided must be consistent with the plan of care. A certification that the individual is terminally ill must be completed as set forth in section § 418.22.
++
[74 FR 39413, Aug. 6, 2009]
++
§ 418.202—Covered services.
++
All services must be performed by appropriately qualified personnel, but it is the nature of the service, rather than the qualification of the person who provides it, that determines the coverage category of the service. The following services are covered hospice services:
++
(a) Nursing care provided by or under the supervision of a registered nurse.
(b) Medical social services provided by a social worker under the direction of a physician.
(c) Physicians’ services performed by a physician as defined in § 410.20 of this chapter except that the services of the hospice medical director or the physician member of the interdisciplinary group must be performed by a doctor of medicine or osteopathy.
(d) Counseling services provided to the terminally ill individual and the family members or other persons caring for the individual at home. Counseling, including dietary counseling, may be provided both for the purpose of training the individual’s family or other caregiver to provide care, and for the purpose of helping the individual and those caring for him or her to adjust to the individual’s approaching death.
(e) Short-term inpatient care provided in a participating hospice inpatient unit, or a participating hospital or SNF, that additionally meets the standards in § 418.202 (a) and (e) regarding staffing and patient areas. Services provided in an inpatient setting must conform to the written plan of care. Inpatient care may be required for procedures necessary for pain control or acute or chronic symptom management.
Inpatient care may also be furnished as a means of providing respite for the individual’s family or other persons caring for the individual at home. Respite care must be furnished as specified in § 418.108(b). Payment for inpatient care will be made at the rate appropriate to the level of care as specified in § 418.302.
(f) Medical appliances and supplies, including drugs and biologicals. Only drugs as defined in section 1861(t) of the Act and which are used primarily for the relief of pain and symptom control related to the individual’s terminal illness are covered. Appliances may ...