CFR

418.304—Payment for physician and nurse practitioner services.

(a) The following services performed by hospice physicians and nurse practitioners are included in the rates described in § 418.302 :

(1) General supervisory services of the medical director.

(2) 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.

(b) For services not described in paragraph (a) of this section, a specified Medicare contractor pays the hospice an amount equivalent to 100 percent of the physician fee schedule for those physician services furnished by hospice employees or under arrangements with the hospice. Reimbursement for these physician services is included in the amount subject to the hospice payment limit described in § 418.309. Services furnished voluntarily by physicians are not reimbursable.

(c) Services of the patient's attending physician, if he or she is not an employee of the hospice or providing services under arrangements with the hospice, are not considered hospice services and are not included in the amount subject to the hospice payment limit described in § 418.309. These services are paid by the carrier under the procedures in subpart B, part 414 of this chapter.

(d) Payment for hospice pre-election evaluation and counseling services. The intermediary makes payment to the hospice for the services established in § 418.205. Payment for this service is set at an amount established under the physician fee schedule, for an office or other outpatient visit for evaluation and management associated with presenting problems of moderate severity and requiring medical decision-making of low complexity other than the portion of the amount attributable to the practice expense component. Payment for this pre-election service does not count towards the hospice cap amount.

(e) (1) Effective December 8, 2003, Medicare pays for attending physician services provided by nurse practitioners to Medicare beneficiaries who have elected the hospice benefit and who have selected a nurse practitioner as their attending physician. This applies to nurse practitioners without regard to whether they are hospice employees.

(2) Nurse practitioners may bill and receive payment for services only if the—

(i) Nurse practitioner is the beneficiary's attending physician as defined in § 418.3 ;

(ii) Services are medically reasonable and necessary;

(iii) Services are performed by a physician in the absence of the nurse practitioner; and

(iv) Services are not related to the certification of terminal illness specified in § 418.22.

(3) Payment for nurse practitioner services are made at 85 percent of the physician fee schedule amount.

[48 FR 56026, Dec. 16, 1983, as amended at 69 FR 66426, Nov. 15, 2004; 70 FR 45145, Aug. 4, 2005; 70 FR 70547, Nov. 22, 2005]

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