A-5200, Hospice in a Long-Term Care Facility

Revision 18-1; Effective March 1, 2018

A Medicaid recipient may elect to receive hospice services in a Medicaid-certified nursing facility (NF) or intermediate care facility for individuals with an intellectual disability or related conditions (ICF/IID). In order to receive Medicaid hospice services, the person must meet all eligibility criteria for MEPD in a long-term care facility, including confinement in one or more Medicaid-certified long-term care facilities for 30 consecutive days. Form 3071 , Individual Election/Cancellation/Update, substitutes for the medical necessity determination when hospice is elected.

The hospice provider informs the eligibility specialist of the possibility of hospice election by a recipient. When the recipient (or authorized representative) signs and dates Form 3071, the hospice provider contacts the eligibility specialist, providing the effective date that the recipient is starting/electing hospice services. The hospice provider follows up this contact by sending Form 3071 to the contractor for Medicaid claims, with a copy to the eligibility specialist.

For Medicaid hospice residents in long-term care facilities, the hospice provider is responsible for collecting the applied income, and the nursing facility manages the patient trust fund. The hospice provider is responsible for completing Form 3071 in the event of any change in the hospice provider, cancellation of the hospice election, and death. There is normally no need for the eligibility specialist to take any action in response to any of these changes. The automated system receives this information through interfacing with the Service Authorization System Online (SASO) and communication with HHSC . If the eligibility worker becomes aware of the death of the recipient, manual denial of the case should be taken.