Skilled Nursing Facility Requirements for Hospice Published by CMS

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule that revises skilled nursing facility (SNF)/nursing facility (NF) requirements for arranging provision of hospice care.

The new requirements clarify nursing facilities’ responsibilities for developing a written agreement with a hospice if a resident elects hospice services, and ensure that SNFs and NFs choosing to arrange for the provision of hospice care through an agreement with 1 or more Medicare-certified hospice providers will have a written agreement that specifies the roles and responsibilities of each entity.

The rule also clarifies the responsibilities of facilities choosing not to contract for hospice services, requiring these facilities to assist residents requesting relocation to transfer to a facility that will arrange for hospice services. Long-term care facilities will be required to have only 1 written agreement with each hospice that provides services in the facility.