Information and Referral Services

The commissioner shall ensure that information and referral services relating to hospice care are available in all regions of the state. The commissioner shall collect and make available information about available hospice care, sources of payment, providers, and the rights of patients. The commissioner shall, as a condition of licensure, require a hospice provider to complete the sections entitled Identification and Contact Information, Program Demographics, Patient Volume, Patient Demographics, and Inpatient and Residential Facilities in the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization National Data Set Survey and to submit the survey to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization once in the 12 calendar months before the hospice provider's license renewal date. If the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requires hospice providers to complete a different data set as a condition of certification, the commissioner shall accept the completion and submittal of such data set as compliance with this requirement. The commissioner shall not use any data or information about any hospice provider submitted to the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in connection with this data set in any regulatory function with respect to the hospice provider. The commissioner may publish and make available: (1) general information describing hospice care in the state; (2) limitations on hours, availability of services, and eligibility for third-party payments, applicable to individual providers; and (3) other information the commissioner determines to be appropriate.