The rule would help long-term care facilities working with hospice facilities have definitive guidelines detailing the roles and responsibilities each organization must execute. Current regulations allow a long-term care facility to choose to have a written agreement with one or more hospice providers for a Medicare-eligible resident who chooses to have hospice. But if the facility chooses not to contract with a Medicare-certified hospice to provide hospice services for the resident who wants it, the facility is responsible for assisting the resident in transferring to a facility that will arrange for the provision of such services.
Comments to the proposed rule may be submitted online at http://www.regulations.gov using code CMS-3140-P by December 21, 2010.
