Reforming Medicare’s hospice benefit (2A)

The Congress should direct the Secretary to:
* Require that a hospice physician or advanced practice nurse visit the patient to determine continued eligibility prior to the 180th-day recertification and each subsequent recertification and attest that such visits took place,
* Require that certifications and recertifications include a brief narrative describing the clinical basis for the patient’s prognosis, and
* Require that all stays in excess of 180 days be medically reviewed for hospices for which stays exceeding 180 days make up 40 percent or more of their total cases.