E-mail Page
Print- Home
- Part A
Medicare Part A Links
- Claims Processing Issues
- Rates and Fee Schedules
- Deductibles and Coinsurance
- Taxonomy Codes
- Medicare Secondary Payer
- About Provider Enrollment
- Check Status of Current Application
- CMS-855A Packet
- Enrollment Forms
- Electronic Funds Transfer
- Provider-Based Status Determinations
- LCDs and Articles
- LCD Comment and Reconsideration Process
- National Coverage Determinations
- Investigational Devices
- Medical Review
- Signature Guidelines
- Part B
Medicare B Links
- HH + H
Home Health + Hospice Links
- Redetermination
- Reconsideration
- Administrative Law Judge Hearing
- Appeals Council Review
- Final Judicial Review
- Forms
- Active LCDs
- Draft LCDs
- Retired LCDs
- Reconsideration Process
- Home Health Coverage Guidelines
- Hospice Coverage Guidelines
- National Coverage Determinations
- Progressive Corrective Action
- PrePayment Review
- Postpaymet Review
- Additional Development Request
- Comparative Billing Reports
- Denial Reason Codes
- Forms
- FAQ
- Contact Us
Nursing Services
Medicare Benefit Policy Manual (CMS Pub. 100-02, Ch.9 §40.1.1)
Nursing care services must be provided by or under supervision of a registered nurse, and must be reasonable and necessary to the treatment of the beneficiary’s illness or injury. The nurse may serve as a team leader for the coordination of the beneficiary’s care of by the Interdisciplinary Team (IDT). The nurse’s documentation is critical to show the continued medical necessity of hospice services by documenting objective nursing and functional assessment.
Services provided by a nurse practitioner (NP) who is not the beneficiary’s attending physician, are included under nursing care. This means that, in the absence of a nurse practitioner, a registered nurse (RN) would provide the service. Since the services are nursing, payment is encompassed in the hospice per diem rate and may not be billed separately regardless of whether the services are provided by an NP or an RN.
Page last updated: May 17, 2010
