Hospice Care
TRICARE has adopted most of the provisions currently set out in Medicare’s
hospice coverage benefit guidelines, reimbursement methodologies, and
certification criteria for participation in the hospice program. The hospice
benefit is designed to provide palliative care to individuals with prognoses of
less than six months to live if the terminal illness runs its normal course.
This type
of care emphasizes supportive services, such as pain control and home care,
rather than cure- oriented treatment.
All TRICARE beneficiaries are eligible for the hospice benefit.
Hospice care must be provided by a Medicare-certified hospice agency. If
the hospice provider is not currently TRICARE-certified, it may download
the Institutional Provider File Application form at www.triwest.com/provider in the “Find a Form” section.
