For service dates of October 1, 2015 and going forward into 2016, all hospice diagnoses (related & unrelated) must be entered on the hospice claim form; this is a provision in the FY2016 Final Hospice Wage Index rule.

An unrelated diagnosis on the claim form does not necessarily mean the hospice must take responsibility. If a hospice physician determines that a diagnosis does not medically contribute to the terminal prognosis, he/she should document why it does not medically contribute to the terminal prognosis in the clinical record.

Medicare is looking for documentation from the hospice physician as to the reasons that a diagnosis is unrelated. mumms has made it easy for clients to document these reasons. mumms users can click here to see how to make this documentation.