Home Health & Hospice Week

Stable Patients Equal Hospice Denials, Contractor Says

You'd better beef up documentation for your hospice patients whose conditions are holding steady, or face denials. In medical review of hospice claims by Medicare contractor NHIC, denials are often due to lack of terminal prognosis, NHIC's Dr. George Costantino told the hospice Provider Outreach and Education Advisory Group Aug. 20 meeting. "Technically, all the pieces are on the claim," the meeting minutes note. "However, there are no serious changes in condition." The problem: "There are patients whose health is declining, meet the need for hospice care, and receive the care they need," the minutes say. "They're taken off medications and stabilize -- there's no allowance for this type of patient."
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