Hospice Modifiers GV and GW

When hospice coverage is elected, the patient waives all rights to Medicare Part B
payments for services related to the treatment and management of their terminal illness and related
conditions during the period the hospice benefit election is in force. A hospice election statement will
identify the patient’s attending physician and the election statement addendum will identify the conditions
that the hospice agency is not responsible for. When a patient who has elected their hospice benefit but
is treated by a physician who is not paid by the hospice provider or receives care for a condition
unrelated to the patient’s terminal illness and related conditions, a modifier is required to indicate that a
separate payment should be allowed and is not part of the payment received by the hospice provider.
This bulletin has been created to strengthen and improve understanding of when to utilize modifiers GV
or GW to bill services to Medicare; or when to bill the hospice agency directly.