Hospice

Hi everyone,

I'm looking for input from those working in Illinois regarding interpretation of the surrogate decision-making law in the context of hospice admissions.

Specifically, when a patient does not have a POA and is being deemed incapacitated for the purpose of electing hospice services:

• Do you consider hospice enrollment to fall under "life-forgoing treatment" as defined by the Illinois surrogate law?
• If so, how are you applying that interpretation in practice?
• Are you requiring two providers to complete and document capacity assessments in the EHR prior to proceeding with surrogate decision-making?

Our organization has been interpreting the law to require two provider determinations of incapacity in these situations, based on the assumption that hospice election qualifies as life-forgoing treatment. However, we've recently received significant pushback from other providers and partners who do not interpret the law this way.

I'd really appreciate hearing how others in Illinois are approaching this-both from a compliance and operational standpoint.

Thank you in advance for sharing your experience!