M1870 — Feeding or Eating
Response options, how to score it, and the error that most often sends the record back. Cited to Ch. 3, Item M1870.
Response options
| Value | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Able to independently feed self |
| 1 | Able to feed self independently but requires meal set-up, intermittent assistance or supervision from another person, or a liquid, pureed, or ground meat diet |
| 2 | Unable to feed self and must be assisted or supervised throughout the meal/snack |
| 3 | Able to take in nutrients orally and receives supplemental nutrients through a nasogastric tube or gastrostomy |
| 4 | Unable to take in nutrients orally and is fed nutrients through a nasogastric tube or gastrostomy |
| 5 | Unable to take in nutrients orally or by tube feeding |
How to score it
Observation/demonstration is the preferred method; other sources include patient/caregiver interview, physical/nutritional assessment, physician orders, plan of care, and referral history. Score the assistance needed to feed self once food is already placed in front of the patient — food preparation and transport to the table are excluded. If ability varies, enter the response describing ability more than 50% of the time period under consideration.
The common error
Coding based on food preparation or meal transport instead of the actual eating/chewing/swallowing process, which CMS excludes entirely from this item. Also common: treating a tube-weaning trial as fully resolved the moment it starts — codes 3 or 4 still apply until the patient no longer uses the tube for nutrition, even if the tube remains in place unused.
Source: OASIS-E2 Guidance Manual — Ch. 3, Item M1870. Verified 2026-04-26.
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