SESSION DESCRIPTION
Most aid-in-dying patients die on hospice, yet fear of CMS, ASFRA, and DEA enforcement often leads to fragmented care and unnecessary restriction. This session shows how hospices can remain compliant while still responding to patients with clarity, compassion, and respect. A hospice physician, hospice nurse educator, and former CMS lawyer will offer practical guidance on state-law thresholds, staff roles, discharge limits, documentation, billing, and medication chain-of-custody concerns.
OBJECTIVES
- Describe core state aid-in-dying statutory requirements, including immunities and prognosis, consent, and capacity provisions, and explain how they intersect with hospice participation policies.
- Analyze ASFRA, CMS hospice Conditions of Participation, and key DEA rules to distinguish clearly compliant aid-in-dying-related activities from those that pose regulatory risk.
- Design or refine hospice policies on presence at ingestion, medication preparation, discharge, and death certification that align with legal requirements and quality-of-care goals.
- Evaluate the business and quality-improvement case for aid-in-dying-aligned care, including potential effects on length of stay, staffing, reputation, and referral patterns.
FACULTY
Jessica Kaan, DO, MPH
Medical Director, End of Life Washington
Kevin J. Malone, JD
Partner, Epstein Becker & Green, P.C.
Thalia DeWolf, RN, CHPN, PHN
Director of Nurse Education and Hospice Outreach, The Academy of Aid-in-Dying Medicine