To meet the Medicare payer criteria for home enteral or parenteral nutrition, the patient's condition must be considered to be 'of long and indefinite duration'. Which length of time below meets Medicare's test of permanence?

• A. 30 days
• B. 60 days
• C. 90 days
• D. 120 days

Answer: (C)

The key idea is how Medicare defines permanence for home nutrition support. Medicare uses a practical threshold: if the need for home enteral or parenteral nutrition is expected to last at least 90 days, it’s considered long-term and indefinite. Shorter anticipated durations, like 30 or 60 days, are viewed as temporary and do not meet permanence. Any duration of 90 days or more qualifies as permanent, so longer spans such as 120 days would also meet the test. Therefore, 90 days is the duration that meets Medicare’s permanence criterion.