Hospice Eligibility
Before hospice care can begin, one must meet hospice eligibility requirements established by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (U.S.). We’ve listed some of the guidelines used to determine if a patient’s condition is, or will soon be, appropriate for admission into hospice care. There is no specific number of symptoms required for admission.
General Eligibility Requirements:
- Diagnosis of life-limiting condition with a life expectancy of six months or less, should the disease run its normal course
- Repeat hospitalizations in the past 6 months
- Significant, unintentional weight loss
- Weakness, fatigue, and somnolence
- Significant decline in cognitive abilities
- Decline in unassisted Activities of Daily Living (ADLs) which include eating, bathing, dressing themselves, toileting, walking, transferring, and continence
- Deteriorating mental abilities
- Recurrent infections
- Breakdown of skin
- Specific decline of condition- AIDS, cancer, COPD, heart failure, stroke, Alzheimer’s, liver disease/cirrhosis, neurological conditions (Parkinson’s, MS, ALS, Huntington’s, etc.), renal disease
Comorbidities, or the presence of two or more chronic conditions, are also a factor in qualifying for hospice.
If you have any questions about your or a loved one possibly qualifying for hospice care, call us at (270) 826-2326.
