# Plain Language Summary: Telehealth for Hospice Recertification

Right now, when someone is receiving hospice care through Medicare, a doctor or nurse practitioner has to meet with them in person every six months to confirm they still need hospice services. This bill allows that required check-in to happen through telehealth—meaning a video call instead of an in-person visit.

Here's why this matters: Hospice patients are typically very ill and often have difficulty traveling or leaving their homes. Requiring an in-person visit can be physically exhausting and sometimes impossible for these patients. It can also be inconvenient for their families and caregivers who help arrange transportation. With telehealth, the doctor or nurse practitioner can evaluate the patient's condition and confirm their eligibility for continued hospice care from wherever the patient is—at home, in a facility, or anywhere else. The healthcare provider still has to do the evaluation and document that it happened, so there's no loss of oversight or safety.

This change only affects the recertification visits that happen every six months after the initial 180 days of hospice care. It doesn't change any other requirements for hospice services or how Medicare covers them. The bill gives the Secretary of Health and Human Services flexibility to decide when telehealth is appropriate for these visits, meaning they can establish guidelines to ensure it's used safely and effectively.

To amend title XVIII of the Social Security Act to permit the use of telehealth for purposes of recertification of eligibility for hospice care.

Miller, Carol D.

 <p>This bill permanently allows, for purposes of hospice care recertification under Medicare, physicians and nurse practitioners to fulfill the requirement of a face-to-face encounter with the hospice patient via telehealth.</p>