Home Health and Hospice Patient Rights

What Are My Rights as a Patient?

Federal law requires that all individuals receiving home health and hospice services be informed of their rights as a patient.

Under 42 CFR § 484.50, home health patients have the right to:

Be informed of the patient’s rights in a language and manner the individual understands;
Have his or her property and person treated with respect;
Be free from verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, including injuries of unknown source, neglect and misappropriation of property;
Make complaints to the home health agency (HHA) regarding treatment or care that is (or fails to be) furnished, and the lack of respect for property and/or person by anyone who is furnishing services on behalf of the HHA;
Participate in, be informed about, and consent or refuse care in advance of and during treatment, where appropriate;
Receive all services outlined in the plan of care;
Have a confidential clinical record, with access to or release of patient information and clinical records being permitted in accordance with 45 CFR parts 160 and 164;
Be advised, orally and in writing, of the extent to which payment may be expected from Medicare, Medicaid, or other federal programs, any charges for non-covered services, any costs owed before care begins, and any changes to this information as soon as they occur;
Receive proper written notice, in advance of a specific service being furnished, if the HHA believes that the service may be non-covered care; or in advance of the HHA reducing or terminating on-going care;
Be advised of the state toll free home health telephone hot line, its contact information, its hours of operation, and that its purpose is to receive complaints or questions about local HHAs;
Be advised of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of certain Federally-funded and state-funded entities that serve the area where the patient resides;
Be free from any discrimination or reprisal for exercising his or her rights or for voicing grievances to the HHA or an outside entity; and
Be informed of the right to access auxiliary aids and language services and how to obtain them.

Under 42 CFR § 418.52, hospice patients have the right to:

Be informed of his or her rights, and the hospice must protect and promote the exercise of these rights;
To exercise his or her rights as a patient of the hospice;
Have his or her property and person treated with respect;
Voice grievances regarding treatment or care that is (or fails to be) furnished and the lack of respect for property by anyone who is furnishing services on behalf of the hospice;
To not be subjected to discrimination or reprisal for exercising his or her rights;
Receive effective pain management and symptom control from the hospice for conditions related to the terminal illness;
Be involved in developing his or her hospice plan of care;
Refuse care or treatment;
Choose his or her attending physician;
Have a confidential clinical record, with access to or release of patient information and clinical records being permitted in accordance with 45 CFR parts 160 and 164;
Be free from mistreatment, neglect, or verbal, mental, sexual, and physical abuse, including injuries of unknown source, and misappropriation of patient property;
Receive information about the services covered under the hospice benefit; and
Receive information about the scope of services that the hospice will provide and specific limitations on those services.