G9856 — Patient was not admitted to hospice
G9856 is a HCPCS Level II code for patient was not admitted to hospice. It belongs to the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section. It was terminated on December 31, 2020 and is not valid on new claims.
This code has been terminated
CMS terminated G9856 on December 31, 2020. It stays in the file as history — a claim you are auditing from before that date may legitimately carry it — but it must not appear on a new claim. The adjacent codes below are the usual place to look for its replacement.
Medicare coverage: Carrier judgment
Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
From the coverage field of the CMS Alpha-Numeric HCPCS File, release 2026Q3-Jul. This states Medicare’s position on the code, not on your particular claim.
The CMS record for G9856
- Long descriptor
- Patient was not admitted to hospice
- Short descriptor
- Pt no hospice
- Added
- January 1, 2017
- Terminated
- December 31, 2020
- BETOS
- Z2
- Pricing indicator
- 00 — Not priced by Part B
The official wording. This is what the code means.
CMS's 28-character form, which is what shows up on a remittance advice.
When CMS introduced the code.
When CMS retired it.
Berenson-Eggers Type of Service — CMS's own analytic grouping.
Service not separately priced by Part B — not covered, bundled into another service, or used by Part A only.
Codes adjacent to G9856
HCPCS has no hierarchy — related items simply sit next to each other in the numbering. If G9856 is not quite right, the correct code is very often within a few positions of it.
- G9848Patient did not receive systemic cancer-directed therapy in the last 14 days of life
- G9849Patients who died from cancerterminated
- G9850Patient had more than one emergency department visit in the last 30 days of lifeterminated
- G9851Patient had one or less emergency department visits in the last 30 days of lifeterminated
- G9852Patients who died from cancerterminated
- G9853Patient admitted to the icu in the last 30 days of lifeterminated
- G9854Patient was not admitted to the icu in the last 30 days of lifeterminated
- G9855Patients who died from cancerterminated
- G9857Patient admitted to hospiceterminated
- G9858Patient enrolled in hospice
- G9859Patients who died from cancer
- G9860Patient spent less than three days in hospice care
- G9861Patient spent greater than or equal to three days in hospice care
- G9862Documentation of medical reason(s) for not recommending at least a 10 year follow-up interval (e.g., inadequate prep, familial or personal history of colonic polyps, patient had no adenoma and age is = 66 years old, or life expectancy < 10 years old, other medical reasons)
- G9868Receipt and analysis of remote, asynchronous images for dermatologic and/or ophthalmologic evaluation, for use only in a medicare-approved cmmi model, less than 10 minutes
- G9869Receipt and analysis of remote, asynchronous images for dermatologic and/or ophthalmologic evaluation, for use only in a medicare-approved cmmi model, 10-20 minutes
Questions about G9856
What is HCPCS code G9856?
G9856 is a HCPCS Level II code for patient was not admitted to hospice. It sits in the Procedures and Professional Services (Temporary) section.
Does Medicare cover G9856?
The CMS HCPCS file marks G9856 as "Carrier judgment". Coverage is decided by your Medicare contractor, not by national policy. Whether this is paid depends on the LCD for your jurisdiction and on what the documentation supports.
Is G9856 still valid?
No. G9856 was terminated on December 31, 2020 and should not be used on new claims.