CMS updated requirements for hospice cost reports to collect non-reimbursable costs associated with assisted suicide. For hospices located in states that allow suicide accomplished with the aid of a physician, hospices will now need to enter the costs incurred by the hospice for items and services in line 72 of their cost reports. Since 1997, federal law has prohibited the use of federally appropriated funds, including Medicare and Medicaid funding, to provide or pay for health care for the purpose of causing, or assisting to cause the death of any individual. The prohibition does not cover items or services to alleviate pain or discomfort, as long as these are not given for the specific purpose of causing or accelerating death. Currently, ten states and the District of Columbia legally allow assisted suicide.
