MDS Alert

Question: One of our residents just had a qualifying 3-day stay in a hospital and will be going on hospice when she returns to the facility. Can we put her on Medicare Part A until the hospice papers are signed?

Colorado Subscriber

Answer: Think about the skilled care — and, thus, Medicare Part A — in terms of the resident’s skilled need. Does the resident need skilled care before she enters hospice care? For example, will she receive therapy or wound care? If not, you shouldn’t skill her. Whether she enters hospice care is neither “here nor there” because you should be looking at the care she requires from facility staff upon her return from the hospital.