Some hospice providers are failing to include the required “PM” modifier on Medicare claims for post-mortem visits that occur on the day of a patient’s death, according to Palmetto GBA. 
 
Palmetto officials published a message reminding hospice providers of the requirement on June 19. These errors will be counted as a reporting error in the review process and may cause service intensity add-on payments to be applied incorrectly on the claim, the MAC notes. 
 
The correct way to report visits in which a patient dies while a clinician is visiting is to document the 15-minute increments in which care was provided while the patient was alive. Then, create a separate line on the claim and use the PM modifier to note all 15-minute increments that the providers stayed with the family after the patient passed away. 
 
Visits should not be reported if they occur after the date of death — the specific day that a patient’s death is recorded on a death certificate, Palmetto adds. This includes situations in which a clinician remains with the patient’s family after midnight. 
 
“If the patient passes away suddenly, and the hospice nurse does not arrive until after his death at 11 p.m., and remains with the family until 1:30 a.m., then the hospice should report a line item nursing visit with a PM modifier and four 15-minute increments of time as the units to account for the one hour post-mortem visit from 11 p.m. to midnight,” the MAC explains. 
 
View Palmetto’s post at https://palmettogba.com/jmhhh/did/00cguim5bc.