Knowledge Base Article

Question:
Can anything be billed to Medicare when a patient is DOA (dead on arrival)?

Answer:
Yes, services are covered until the patient is pronounced dead. If the patient is pronounced prior to arrival, there is no coverage.

Medicare Benefits Policy Manual, 100-02, Chapter 6, Section 20.2:

"Outpatient hospital services furnished in the emergency room to a patient classified as 'dead on arrival' are covered until pronouncement of death, if the hospital considers such patients as outpatients for record-keeping purposes and follows its usual outpatient billing practice for such services to all patients, both Medicare and non-Medicare. This coverage does not apply if the patient was pronounced dead prior to arrival at the hospital."