Under the Medicare Hospice Benefit, which one of the following admission criteria is not required:
a) a physician/NP of record is identified
b) DNR (no code) status
c) expected prognosis of 6 months or less
d) the approach is limited to a palliative, symptom-oriented approach
Answer b.
Under Federal rules, DNR status may not be used as a criteria for admission under the Medicare Hospice Benefit. Although it seems counter-intuitive, Medicare realized that forcing patients to choose DNR status placed an undue burden on patients that would limit enrollment of otherwise eligible patients.
Resource: Fast Fact #82 Medicare Hospice Benefit – Part 1: Eligibility and Treatment plan
