Health, Health Care Financing, Coverage and Reimbursement Policy

Rule R414-14A

Hospice Care

Notice of Proposed Rule

(Amendment)

DAR File No.: 33579
Filed: 04/27/2010 04:30:23 PM

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The purpose of this change is to clarify Medicaid's hospice care policy for the continuous home care day service.

Summary of the rule or change:

This amendment clarifies that extended stay residents of nursing facilities are not eligible for the continuous home care day service. It also makes other minor corrections.

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

• Section 26-18-3
• Section 26-1-5

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

There is no impact to the state budget because this change only clarifies that the hospice program does not permit residents of nursing facilities to receive the continuous home care day service.

local governments:

There is no impact to local governments because they do not fund or provide hospice care for Medicaid clients.

small businesses:

There is no impact to providers of hospice care because this change only clarifies that the hospice program does not permit residents of nursing facilities to receive the continuous home care day service.

persons other than small businesses, businesses, or local governmental entities:

There is no impact to providers of hospice care or to the Medicaid clients who receive hospice services because this change only clarifies that the hospice program does not permit residents of nursing facilities to receive the continuous home care day service.

Compliance costs for affected persons:

There are no compliance costs to a single hospice care provider or to a Medicaid client because this change only clarifies that the hospice program does not permit residents of nursing facilities to receive the continuous home care day service.

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

Home Care Day Service is a benefit available to Medicaid clients in a community setting. This service is not authorized in a long term care facility. This rule change emphasizes long standing policy and no impact on business is expected.

David N. Sundwall, MD, Executive Director

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Health
Health Care Financing, Coverage and Reimbursement Policy
288 N 1460 W
SALT LAKE CITY, UT 84116-3231

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

• Craig Devashrayee at the above address, by phone at 801-538-6641, by FAX at 801-538-6099, or by Internet E-mail at [email protected]

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

06/14/2010

This rule may become effective on:

06/21/2010

Authorized by:

David Sundwall, Executive Director

R414. Health, Health Care Financing, Coverage and Reimbursement Policy.

R414-14A. Hospice Care.

R414-14A-1. Introduction and Authority.

This rule is authorized by Sections 26-1-5 and 26-18-3. It implements Medicaid hospice care services as found in 42 U.S.C. 1396d(o).

 

R414-14A-2. Definitions.

The definitions in Rule R414-1 apply to this rule. In addition:

(1) "Attending physician" means a physician who:

(a) is a doctor of medicine or osteopathy; and

(b) is identified by the client at the time he or she elects to receive hospice care as having the most significant role in the determination and delivery of the client's medical care.

(2) "Cap period" means the 12 month period ending October 31 used in the application of the cap on reimbursement for inpatient hospice care as described in Subsection R414-14A-22(5).

(3) "Employee" means an employee of the hospice provider or, if the hospice provider is a subdivision of an agency or organization, an employee of the agency or organization who is appropriately trained and assigned to the hospice unit. "Employee" includes a volunteer under the direction of the hospice provider.

(4) "Hospice care" means care provided to terminally ill clients by a hospice provider.

(5) "Hospice provider" means a provider that is licensed under the provisions of Rule R432-750 and is primarily engaged in providing care to terminally ill individuals.

(6) "Physician" means a doctor of medicine or osteopathy who is licensed by the state of Utah.

(7) "Representative" means an individual who has been authorized under state law to make health care decisions, including initiating, continuing, refusing, or terminating medical treatments for a client who is mentally unable to make health care decisions.

(8) "Terminally ill" means the client has a medical prognosis that his or her life expectancy is six months or less if the illness runs its normal course.

 

R414-14A-3. Client Eligibility Requirements.

(1) A client who is terminally ill may obtain hospice care pursuant to this rule.

(2) A client's certification of a terminal condition required for hospice eligibility must be based on a face-to-face assessment by a physician conducted no more than 90 days prior to the date of enrollment.

(3) A client dually enrolled in Medicare and Medicaid must elect the hospice benefit for both Medicare and Medicaid. The client must receive hospice coverage under Medicare. Election for the Medicaid hospice benefit provides the client coverage for Medicare co-insurance and coverage for room and board expenses while a resident of a Medicare-certified nursing facility, Intermediate Care Facility for the Mentally Retarded (ICF/MR), or freestanding hospice facility.

 

R414-14A-4. Program Access Requirements.

(1) Hospice care may be provided only by a hospice provider licensed by the Department, that is Medicare certified in accordance with 42 CFR Part 418, and that is a Medicaid provider.

(2) A hospice provider must have a valid Medicaid provider agreement in place prior to initiating hospice care for Medicaid clients. The Medicaid provider agreement is effective on the date a Medicaid provider application is received in the Department and shall not be made retroactive to an earlier date, including an earlier effective date of Medicare hospice certification.

(3) At the time of a change of ownership, the previous owner's provider agreement terminates as of the effective date of the change of ownership.

(4) The Department accepts all waivers granted to hospice agencies by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as part of the Medicare certification process.

(5) Hospice agencies participating in the Medicaid program shall provide hospice care in accordance with the requirements of 42 CFR Part 418.

 

R414-14A-5. Service Coverage.

Hospice care categories eligible for Medicaid reimbursement are the following:

(1) "Routine home care day" is a day in which a client who has elected to receive hospice care is at home and is not receiving continuous home care as defined in Subsection R414-14A-5(5). For purposes of routine home care day, extended stay residents of nursing facilities are considered at home.

(2) "Continuous home care day" is a day in which a client who has elected to receive hospice care receives a minimum of eight aggregate hours of care from the hospice provider during a 24-hour day, which begins and ends at midnight. The eight aggregate hours of care must be predominately nursing care provided by either a registered nurse or licensed practical nurse. Continuous home care is only furnished during brief periods of crisis in which a patient requires continuous care that is primarily nursing care to achieve palliation or management of acute medical symptoms. [For purposes of routine home care day, extended stay residents of nursing facilities are considered at home]Extended stay residents of nursing facilities are not eligible for continuous home care day.

(3) "Inpatient respite care day" is a day in which the client who has elected hospice care receives short-term inpatient care when necessary to relieve family members or other persons caring for the client at home.

(4) "General inpatient care day" is a day in which a client who has elected hospice care receives general inpatient care for pain control or acute or chronic symptom management that cannot be managed in a home or other outpatient setting. General inpatient care may be provided in a hospice inpatient unit, a hospital, or a nursing facility.

(5) "Room and Board" is medication administration, performance of personal care, social activities, routine and therapeutic dietary services, meal service including direct feeding assistance, maintaining the cleanliness of the client's room, assistance with activities of daily living, durable equipment, prescribed therapies, and all other services unrelated to care associated with the terminal illness that would be covered under the Medicaid State Plan nursing facility benefit.

 

R414-14A-6. Hospice Election.

(1) A client who meets the eligibility requirement for Medicaid hospice must file an election statement with a particular hospice. If the client is physically or mentally incapacitated, his or her legally authorized representative may file the election statement.

(2) Each hospice provider designs and prints its own election statement. The election statement must include the following:

(a) identification of the particular hospice that will provide care to the client;

(b) the client's or representative's acknowledgment that he or she has been given a full understanding of the palliative rather than curative nature of hospice care, as it relates to the client's terminal illness;

(c) acknowledgment that the client waives certain Medicaid services as set forth in Section R414-14A-11;

(d) acknowledgment that the client or representative may revoke the election of the hospice benefit at any time in the future and therefore become eligible for Medicaid services waived at the time of hospice election as set forth in Section R414-14A-8; and

(e) the signature of the recipient or representative.

(3) The effective date of the election may be the first day of hospice care or a later date, but may be no earlier than the date of the election statement

(4) An election to receive hospice care remains effective through the initial election period and through the subsequent election periods without a break in care as long as the client:

(a) remains in the care of a hospice;

(b) does not revoke the election; and

(c) is not discharged from the hospice.

(5) The hospice provider must notify the Department at the time a Medicaid client selects the hospice benefit, including selecting the hospice provider under a change of designated hospice. The notification must include a copy of the hospice election statement and the client's plan of care for hospice care. Authorization for reimbursement of hospice care begins no earlier than the date notification is received by the Department for an eligible Medicaid client, except as provided in Section R414-14A-19.

(6) Subject to the conditions set forth in this rule, a client may elect to receive hospice care during one or more of the following election periods:

(a) an initial 90-day period;

(b) a subsequent 90-day period; or

(c) an unlimited number of subsequent 60-day periods.

 

R414-14A-7. Change in Hospice Provider.

(1) A client or representative may change, once in each election period, the designation of the particular hospice from which hospice care will be received.

(2) The change of the designated hospice is not a revocation of the election for the period in which it is made.

(3) To change the designation of hospice provider, the client must file, with the hospice provider from which care has been received and with the newly designated hospice provider, a statement that includes the following information:

(a) the name of the hospice provider from which the client has received care;

(b) the name of the hospice provider from which the client plans to receive care; and

(c) the date the change is to be effective.

(4) The client must file the change on or before the effective date.

 

R414-14A-8. Revocation and Re-election of Hospice Services.

(1) A client or legal representative may voluntarily revoke the client's election of hospice care at any time during an election period.

(2) To revoke the election of hospice care, the client or representative must file a statement with the hospice provider that includes the following information:

(a) a signed statement that the client or representative revokes the client's election for Medicaid coverage of hospice care.

(b) the date that the revocation is to be effective, which may not be earlier than the date that the revocation is made; and

(c) an acknowledgment signed by the patient or the patient's representative that the patient will forfeit Medicaid hospice coverage for any remaining days in that election period.

(3) Upon revocation of the election of Medicaid coverage of hospice care for a particular election period, a client:

(a) is no longer covered under Medicaid for hospice care;

(b) resumes Medicaid coverage for the benefits waived under Section R414-14A-6; and

(c) may at any time elect to receive hospice coverage for any other hospice election periods that he or she is eligible to receive.

(4) If an election has been revoked, the client, or his or her representative if the client is mentally incapacitated, may at any time file an election, in accordance with this rule, for any other election period that is still available to the client.

(5) Hospice providers shall not encourage clients to temporarily revoke hospice services solely for the purpose of avoiding financial responsibility for Medicaid services that have been waived at the time of hospice election as described in Section R414-14A-9.

(6) Hospice providers must send notification to the Department within ten calendar days that a client has revoked hospice benefits. Notification must include a copy of the revocation statement signed by the client or the client's legal representative.

 

R414-14A-9. Rights Waived to Some Medicaid.

(1) For the duration of an election for hospice care, a client waives all rights to Medicaid to the following services:

(a) hospice care provided by a hospice other than the hospice designated by the client, unless provided under arrangements made by the designated hospice; and

(b) any Medicaid services that are related to the treatment of the terminal condition for which hospice care was elected or a related condition or are duplicative of hospice care except for services:

(i) provided by the designated hospice;

(ii) provided by another hospice under arrangements made by the designated hospice; and

(iii) provided by the client's attending physician if the services provided are not otherwise covered by the payment made for hospice care.

(2) Medicaid services for illnesses or conditions not related to the client's terminal illness are not covered through the hospice program but are covered when provided by the appropriate provider.

 

R414-14A-10. Notice of Hospice Care in a Nursing Facility, ICF/MR, or Freestanding Inpatient Hospice Facility.

(1) The hospice provider must notify the Department at the time a Medicaid client residing in a Medicare certified nursing facility, a Medicaid certified ICF/MR, or a Medicare freestanding inpatient hospice facility elects the Medicaid hospice benefit or at the time a Medicaid client who has elected the Medicaid hospice benefit is admitted to a Medicare certified nursing facility, a Medicaid certified ICF/MR, or a Medicare freestanding inpatient hospice facility.

(2) The notification must include a prognosis of the time the client will require skilled nursing facility services under the hospice benefit.

(3) Except as provided in Section R414-14A-20, reimbursement for room and board begins no earlier than the date the hospice provider notifies the Department that the client has elected the Medicaid hospice benefit.

 

R414-14A-11. Notice of Independent Attending Physician.

The hospice provider must notify the Department at the time a Medicaid client designates an attending physician who is not a hospice employee.

 

R414-14A-12. Extended Hospice Care.

(1) Clients who accumulate 12 or more months of hospice benefits are subject to an independent utilization review by a physician with expertise in end-of-life and hospice care selected by the Department.

(2) If Medicare determines that a patient is no longer eligible for Medicare reimbursement for hospice services, the patient will no longer be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement for hospice services. Providers must immediately notify Medicaid upon learning of Medicare's determination. Medicaid reimbursement for hospice services will cease the day after Medicare notifies the hospice provider that the client is no longer eligible for hospice care.

 

R414-14A-13. Provider Initiated Discharge from Hospice Care.

(1) The hospice provider may not initiate discharge of a patient from hospice care except in the following circumstances:

(a) the patient moves out of the hospice provider's geographic service area or transfers to another hospice provider by choice;

(b) the hospice determines that the patient is no longer terminally ill; or

(c) the hospice provider determines, under a policy set by the hospice for the purpose of addressing discharge for cause, that the patient's behavior (or the behavior of other persons in the patient's home) is disruptive, abusive, or uncooperative to the extent that delivery of care to the patient or the ability [fo]of the hospice to operate effectively is seriously impaired.

(2) The hospice provider must carry out the following activities before it seeks to discharge a patient for cause:

(a) advise the patient that a discharge for cause is being considered;

(b) make a diligent effort to resolve the problem that the patient's behavior or situation presents;

(c) ascertain that the discharge is not due to the patient's use of necessary hospice services; and

(d) document the problem and efforts to resolve the problem in the patient's medical record.

(3) Before discharging a patient for any reason listed in Subsection R414-14A-13(1), the hospice provider must obtain a physician's written discharge order from the hospice provider's medical director. If a patient also has an attending physician, the hospice provider must consult the physician before discharge and the attending physician must include the review and decision in the discharge documentation.

(4) A client, upon discharge from the hospice during a particular election period, for reasons other than immediate transfer to another hospice:

(a) is no longer covered under Medicaid for hospice care;

(b) resumes Medicaid coverage of the benefits waived during the hospice coverage period; and

(c) may at any time elect to receive hospice care if the client is again eligible to receive the benefit in the future.

(5) The hospice provider must have in place a discharge planning process that takes into account the prospect that a patient's condition might stabilize or otherwise change if that patient cannot continue to be certified as terminally ill. The discharge planning process must include planning for any necessary family counseling, patient education, or other services before the patient is discharged because the patient is no longer terminally ill.

 

R414-14A-14. Hospice Room and Board Service.

If a client residing in a nursing facility, ICF/MR or a freestanding hospice inpatient unit elects hospice care, the hospice provider and the facility must have a written agreement under which the total care of the individual must be specified in a comprehensive service plan, the hospice provider is responsible for the professional management of the client's hospice care, and the facility agrees to provide room and board and services unrelated to the care of the terminal condition to the client. The agreement must include:

(1) identification of the services to be provided by each party and the method of care coordination to assure that all services are consistent with the hospice approach to care and are organized to achieve the outcomes defined by the hospice plan of care;

(2) a stipulation that Medicaid services may be provided only with the express authorization of the hospice;

(3) the manner in which the contracted services are coordinated, supervised and evaluated by the hospice provider;

(4) the delineation of the roles of the hospice provider and the facility in the admission process; needs assessment process, and the interdisciplinary team care conference and service planning process;

(5) requirements for documenting that services are furnished in accordance with the agreement;

(6) the qualifications of the personnel providing the services; and

(7) the billing and reimbursement process by which the nursing facility will bill the hospice provider for room and board and receive payment from the hospice provider.

(8) In cases in which nursing facility residents revoke their hospice benefits, it is the responsibility of the hospice provider to notify the nursing facility of the revocation. The notice must be in writing and the hospice provider must provide it to the nursing facility on or before the revocation date.

 

R414-14A-15. In Home Physician Services.

In-home physician visits by the attending physician are authorized for hospice clients if the attending physician determines that direct management of the client in the home setting is necessary to achieve the goals associated with a hospice approach to care.

 

R414-14A-16. Continuous Home Care.

When the hospice provider determines that a patient requires at least eight hours of primarily nursing care in order to manage an acute medical crisis, the hospice provider will maintain documentation to support the requirement that the services provided were reasonable and necessary and were in compliance with an established plan of care in order to meet a particular crisis situation. Continuous home care is a covered benefit only as necessary to maintain the terminally ill client at home.

 

R414-14A-17. General Inpatient Care.

(1) General inpatient care is authorized without prior authorization for an initial ten calendar day length of stay. Prior authorization is required for any additional general inpatient care days during the same stay to verify that the client's needs meet the requirements for general inpatient care. If a hospice provider requests additional days, the subsequent requests are subject to clinical review and approval by qualified Department staff.

(2) General inpatient care days may not be used due to the breakdown of the primary care giving living arrangements or the collapse of other sources of support for the recipient.

(3) Prior authorization for additional days beyond the initial ten calendar day stay must be obtained before the hospice care is provided, except as allowed in Section R414-14A-19.

 

R414-14A-18. Inpatient Respite Care.

When the hospice provider determines that a patient requires a short-term inpatient respite stay in order to relieve the family members or other persons caring for the client at home, the hospice provider will maintain documentation to support the requirement that the services provided were reasonable and necessary to relieve a particular caregiver situation. Inpatient respite care may not be reimbursed for more than five consecutive days at a time. Inpatient respite care may not be reimbursed for a patient residing in a nursing facility, ICF/MR, or freestanding hospice inpatient unit.

 

R414-14A-19. Notification and Prior Authorization Grace Periods.

If a new patient is already Medicaid eligible upon admission to hospice care, the hospice provider must submit a prior authorization request form to the Department in order to receive reimbursement for hospice services it renders, except in the following circumstances:

(a) during weekend, holidays, and after regular Department business hours, a hospice provider may begin service to a new Medicaid hospice enrollee, including covering room and board, or initiate a different hospice care requiring prior authorization for a grace period up to ten calendar days before notifying the Department;

(b) before the end of the ten calendar day grace period, the hospice provider must complete and submit the prior authorization request form to the Department in order to receive reimbursement for hospice services it renders.

(c) if the hospice provider does not submit the prior authorization request form timely, the Department will not reimburse the provider for the care that it renders before the date that the form is received.

 

R414-14A-20. Post-Payment for Services Provided While in Medicaid-Pending Status.

(1) If a new client is not Medicaid eligible upon admission to hospice services but becomes Medicaid eligible at a later date, the Department will reimburse a hospice provider retroactively for up to 90 days to allow the hospice eligibility date to coincide with the client's Medicaid eligibility date if:

(a) the Department determines that the client met Medicaid eligibility requirements at the time the service was provided;

(b) the hospice care met the prior authorization criteria at the time of delivery; and

(c) the hospice provider reimburses the Department for care related to the client's terminal illness delivered by other Medicaid providers during the retroactive period.

(2) The hospice provider must provide a copy of the initial care plan and any other documentation to the Department adequate to demonstrate the hospice care met prior authorization criteria at the time of delivery.

 

R414-14A-21. Hospice Care Reimbursement.

(1) Medicaid payment for covered hospice care is made in accordance with the methodology set forth in the Utah Medicaid State Plan.

(2) A hospice provider may not charge a Medicaid client for services for which the client is entitled to have payment made under Medicaid.

(3) Medicaid reimbursement to a hospice provider for services provided during a cap period is limited to the cap amount specified in Subsection R414-14A-22(5).

(4) Medicaid does not apply the aggregate caps used by Medicare.

(5) Payment for hospice care is made on the basis of the geographic location where the service is provided as described in the Medicaid State Plan.

(6) Routine home care, continuous home care, general inpatient care, inpatient respite care services, and hospice room and board, are reimbursable to the hospice provider only.

(7) Hospice general inpatient care and inpatient respite care are not reimbursed by Medicaid for services provided in a Veterans Administration hospital or military hospital.

 

R414-14A-22. Payment for Hospice Care Categories.

(1) The Department establishes payment amounts for the following categories:

(a) Routine home care.

(b) Continuous home care.

(c) Inpatient respite care.

(d) General inpatient care.

(e) Room and Board service.

(2) The Department reimburses the hospice provider at the appropriate payment amount for each day for which an eligible Medicaid recipient is under the hospice's care.

(3) The Medicaid reimbursement covers the same services and amounts covered by the equivalent Medicare reimbursement rate for comparable service categories.

(4) The Department makes payment according to the following procedures:

(a) Payment is made to the hospice for each day during which the client is eligible and under the care of the hospice, regardless of the amount of services furnished on any given day.

(b) Payment is made for only one of the categories of hospice care described in Subsection R414-14A-22(1) for any particular day.

(c) On any day in which the client is not an inpatient, the Department pays the hospice provider the routine home care rate, unless the client receives continuous home care as provided in Subsection R414-14A-5(5) for a period of at least eight hours. In that case, the Department pays a portion of the continuous care day rate in accordance with Subsection R414-14A-22(5).

(d) The hospice payment on a continuous care day varies depending on the number of hours of continuous services provided. The number of hours of continuous care provided during a continuous home care day is multiplied by the hourly rate to yield the continuous home care payment for that day. A minimum of eight hours of licensed nursing care must be furnished on a particular day to qualify for the continuous home care rate.

(e) Subject to the limitations described in Subsection R414-14A-22(5), on any day on which the client is an inpatient in an approved facility for inpatient care, the appropriate inpatient rate (general or respite) is paid depending on the category of care furnished. The inpatient rate (general or respite) is paid for the date of admission and all subsequent inpatient days, except the day on which the client is discharged. For the day of discharge, the appropriate home care rate is paid unless the client dies as an inpatient. In the case where the client dies as an inpatient, the inpatient rate (general or respite) is paid for the discharge day. Payment for inpatient respite care is subject to the requirement that it may not be provided consecutively for more than five days at a time.

(5) Payment for inpatient care is limited as follows:

(a) The total payment to the hospice for inpatient care (general or respite) is subject to a limitation that total inpatient care days for Medicaid clients not exceed 20 percent of the total days for which these clients had elected hospice care. Clients afflicted with AIDS are excluded when calculating inpatient days.

(b) At the end of a cap period, the Department calculates a limitation on payment for inpatient care for each hospice to ensure that Medicaid payment is not made for days of inpatient care in excess of 20 percent of the total number of days of hospice care furnished to Medicaid clients by the hospice.

(c) If the number of days of inpatient care furnished to Medicaid clients is equal to or less than 20 percent of the total days of hospice care to Medicaid clients, no adjustment is necessary.

(d) If the number of days of inpatient care furnished to Medicaid clients exceeds 20 percent of the total days of hospice care to Medicaid clients, the total payment for inpatient care is determined in accordance with the procedures specified in Subsection R414-14A-22(5)(e). That amount is compared to actual payments for inpatient care, and any excess reimbursement must be refunded by the hospice.

(e) If a hospice exceeds the number of inpatient care days described in Subsection R414-14A-22(5)(d), the total payment for inpatient care is determined as follows:

(i) Calculate the ratio of the maximum number of allowable inpatient days to the actual number of inpatient care days furnished by the hospice to Medicaid clients.

(ii) Multiply this ratio by the total reimbursement for inpatient care made by the Department.

(iii) Multiply the number of actual inpatient days in excess of the limitation by the routine home care rate.

(iv) Sum the amounts calculated in Subsection R414-14A-22(5)(e)(ii) and (iii).

(6) The hospice provider may request an exception to the inpatient care payment limitation if the hospice provider demonstrates the volume of Medicaid enrollees during the cap period was insufficient to reasonably achieve the required 20% ratio.

 

R414-14A-23. Payment for Physician Services.

(1) The following services performed by hospice physicians are included in the rates described in Sections R414-14A-21 and 22:

(a) General supervisory services of the medical director.

(b) Participation in the establishment of plans of care, supervision of care and services, periodic review and updating of plans of care, and establishment of governing policies by the physician member of the interdisciplinary group.

(2) For services not described in Subsection R414-14A-23(1), direct care services related to the terminal illness or a related condition provided by hospice physicians are reimbursed according to the Medicaid reimbursement fee schedule for physician services. Services furnished voluntarily by physicians are not reimbursable.

(3) Services of the client's attending physician, including in-home services, are reimbursed according to the Medicaid fee schedule for State Plan physician services. Services furnished voluntarily by physicians are not reimbursable.

 

R414-14A-24. Hospice Payment Covers Special Modalities.

No additional Medicaid payment will be made for chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and other special modalities of care for palliative purposes regardless of the cost of the services.

 

R414-14A-25. Payment for Nursing Facility, ICF/MR, and Freestanding Inpatient Hospice Unit Room and Board.

(1) For clients in a nursing facility, ICF/MR, or a freestanding hospice inpatient unit who elect to receive hospice care from a Medicaid enrolled hospice provider, Medicaid will pay the hospice provider an additional per diem for routine home care [and continuous home care ]services to cover the cost of room and board in the facility. For nursing facilities and ICFs/MR, the room and board rate is[e] 95 percent of the amount that the Department would have paid to the nursing facility or ICF/MR provider for that client if the client had not elected to receive hospice care. For freestanding hospice inpatient facilities, the room and board rate is 95 percent of the statewide average paid by Medicaid for nursing facility services.

(2) Reimbursement for room and board is made to the hospice provider. The hospice provider is responsible to reimburse the facility the room and board payment received. The reimbursement is payment in full for the services described in Subsection R414-14A-14(2). The facility cannot bill Medicaid separately.

(3) If a hospice enrollee in a nursing facility, ICF/MR, or a freestanding hospice inpatient unit has a monetary obligation to contribute to his or her cost of care in the facility, the facility must collect and retain the contribution. The hospice must reimburse the facility the reduced amount received from Medicaid directly or from a Medicaid Health Plan.

 

R414-14A-26. Limitation on Liability for Certain Hospice Coverage Denials.

If a client is determined not to be terminally ill while hospice care were received under this rule, the client is not responsible to reimburse the Department. If the Department denies reimbursement to the hospice provider, the hospice provider may not seek reimbursement from the client.

 

R414-14A-27. Medicaid Health Plans and Hospice.

(1) If a Medicaid-only client is enrolled in a Medicaid health plan, the hospice selected by the client must have a contract with the health plan. The health plan is responsible to reimburse the hospice for hospice care. The Department will not directly reimburse a hospice provider for a Medicaid-only client covered by a health plan.

(2) If a Medicaid-only client enrolled in a health plan elects hospice care before being admitted to a nursing facility, ICF/MR, or a freestanding hospice inpatient unit, the health plan is responsible to reimburse the hospice provider for both the hospice care and the room and board until the client is disenrolled from the health plan by the Department. At the point the health plan determines that the enrollee will require care in the nursing facility for greater than 30 days, the health plan will notify the Department of the prognosis of extended nursing facility services. The Department will schedule disenrollment from the health plan to occur in accordance with the terms of the health plan contract for care provided in skilled nursing facilities.

(3) If a hospice enrollee is covered by Medicare for hospice care, the Medicaid health plan is responsible for the health plan's payment rate less any amount paid by Medicare and other payors. The health plan is responsible for payment even if the Medicare covered service is rendered by an out-of-plan provider or was not authorized by the health plan.

(4) The health plan is responsible for room and board expenses of a hospice enrollee receiving Medicare hospice care while the client is a resident of a Medicare-certified nursing facility, ICF/MR, or freestanding hospice facility until the client is disenrolled from the health plan by the Department. On the 31st day, the client is disenrolled from the health plan and enrolled in the Medicaid fee-for-service hospice program. At the point the Department determines that the enrollee will require care in the nursing facility for greater than 30 days, the Department will schedule disenrollment from the health plan to occur in accordance with the terms of the health plan contract for care provided in skilled nursing facilities. The room and board expenses will be set in accordance with Section R414-14A-25.

(5) The hospice provider is responsible for determining if an applicant for hospice care is covered by a Medicaid health plan prior to enrolling the client, for coordinating services and reimbursement with the health plan during the period the client is receiving the hospice benefit, and for notifying the health plan when the client disenrolls from the hospice benefit.

 

R414-14A-28. Marketing by [House]Hospice Providers.

Hospice providers shall not engage in unsolicited direct marketing to prospective clients. Marketing strategies shall remain limited to mass outreach and advertisements, except when a prospective client or legal representative explicitly requests information from a particular hospice provider. Hospice providers shall refrain from offering incentives or other enticements to persuade a prospective client to choose that provider for hospice care.

 

R414-14A-29. Medicaid 1915c HCBS Waivers and Hospice.

(1) For hospice enrollees covered by a Medicaid 1915c Home and Community-Based Services Waiver, hospice providers shall provide medically necessary care that is directly related to the patient's terminal illness.

(2) The waiver program may continue to provide services that are:

(a) unrelated to the client's terminal illness and;

(b) assessed by the waiver program as necessary to maintain safe residence in a home or community-based setting in accordance with waiver requirements.

(3) The waiver case management agency and the hospice case management agency shall meet together upon commencement of hospice services to develop a coordinated plan of care that clearly defines the roles and responsibilities of each program.

 

KEY: Medicaid

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [January 28], 2010

Notice of Continuation: September 30, 2009

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 26-1-4.1; 26-1-5; 26-18-3