MDS Alert

Question: Do residents who enter a nursing home to receive their hospice benefits need an MDS?

South Carolina Subscriber

Answer: The RAI Manual looks to the resident’s beneficiary status, saying, on pages 2-3: “When a SNF or NF is the hospice resident’s residence for purposes of the hospice benefit, the facility must comply with the Medicare or Medicaid participation requirements, meaning the resident must be assessed using the RAI, have a care plan and be provided with the services required under the plan of care. This can be achieved through cooperation of both the hospice and long-term care facility staff (including participation in completing the RAI and care planning) with the consent of the resident.”