The Department of Health (DOH) issued a Dear Administrator Letter (DAL) earlier this month setting forth reporting requirements for hospice providers of services and service items (e.g., durable medical equipment, drugs, personal care) that a hospice patient is receiving according to whether the services and items are related or unrelated to the patient's terminal illness that is the reason for the patient’s admission to hospice. “Related services” are considered “covered” by the hospice benefit, and “unrelated” services are considered “noncovered.” The DAL includes a reporting form requiring the delineation of related/unrelated-noncovered to be filled out by the hospice agency and a patient’s other health care providers.

The DAL was issued in response to a recent audit of the hospice benefit, including #2018-S-71 by the Office of the State Comptroller, and also relates to a recently adopted federal requirement that hospices inform patients of noncovered items.

LeadingAge NY members should review the linked documents and communicate any questions or concerns they may have. We are concerned that the reporting requirements may be difficult to operationalize for hospice providers, especially as they relate to reporting by other health care providers of a patient. We remain concerned that policies related to hospice care should be facilitating utilization rather than setting up new barriers to care. New York continues to have the lowest hospice average length of stay of any state in the country.

Contact: Meg Everett, meverett@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8871