Hospice Recertification Flexibility Act

This bill lets doctors and nurse practitioners keep using telehealth for the required “face-to-face” visit when renewing a patient’s hospice care under Medicare. The telehealth option is extended through December 31, 2027, and those telehealth recertification visits must be marked with a special billing code on claims .

Key points:

• Who is affected: Medicare patients in hospice care, their doctors and nurse practitioners, and hospice providers.
• What changes: The telehealth option for the recertification visit continues; telehealth recertifications must include a special claims modifier for billing.
• Limits: The telehealth option does not apply in areas with a 6+ month moratorium on new hospice enrollment due to fraud or abuse, to providers under enhanced oversight, or to practitioners not properly enrolled with Medicare or who haven’t met opt-out rules.
• When: Through December 31, 2027 .