For much of its history, hospice focused on problems related to malignant disease. Recently, however, non-cancer diagnoses such as congestive heart failure, emphysema and Alzheimer's disease have comprised an increasing proportion of hospice referrals. This paper details criteria published by NHO and adopted by the US Health Care Financing Administration for hospice eligibility for common non-cancer diagnoses. A provisional list of domains for documenting "evidence of rapid decline," by which patients with advanced disease who do not meet criteria can still be certified for the Medicare Hospice Benefit, is also outlined.