CFR > Title 42 - Public Health > CHAPTER IV—CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES > SUBCHAPTER B—MEDICARE PROGRAM (parts 405 to 426) > PART 424—CONDITIONS FOR MEDICARE PAYMENT > SUBPART B—Certification and Plan Requirements (§424.10 to §424.27) > 424.14—Requirements for inpatient services of inpatient psychiatric facilities.

424.14—Requirements for inpatient services of inpatient psychiatric facilities.

(a) Content of certification and recertification: General considerations. The content requirements differ from those for other hospitals because the care furnished in psychiatric hospitals is often purely custodial and thus not covered under Medicare. The purpose of the statements, therefore, is to help ensure that Medicare pays only for services of the type appropriate for Medicare coverage. Accordingly, Medicare Part A pays for inpatient care in a psychiatric hospital only if a physician certifies and recertifies the need for services consistent with the content of paragraphs (b) or (c) of this section, as appropriate.
(b) Content of certification. Inpatient psychiatric services were required—
(1) For treatment that could reasonably be expected to improve the patient's condition; or
(2) For diagnostic study.
(c) Content of recertification. (1) Inpatient services furnished since the previous certification or recertification were, and continue to be, required—
(i) For treatment that could reasonably be expected to improve the patient's condition; or
(ii) For diagnostic study; and
(2) The hospital records show that the services furnished were—
(i) Intensive treatment services;
(ii) Admission and related services necessary for diagnostic study; or
(iii) Equivalent services.
(3) The patient continues to need, on a daily basis, active treatment furnished directly by or requiring the supervision of inpatient psychiatric facility personnel.
(d) Timing of certification and recertification. (1) Certification is required at the time of admission or as soon thereafter as is reasonable and practicable.
(2) The first recertification is required as of the 12th day of hospitalization. Subsequent recertifications are required at intervals established by the UR committee (on a case-by-case basis if it so chooses), but no less frequently than every 30 days.
(e) Other requirements. Psychiatric hospitals must also meet the requirements set forth in § 424.13 (b), (c), (f), and (g).
[53 FR 6634, Mar. 2, 1988, as amended at 71 FR 27087, May 9, 2006; 71 FR 37504, June 30, 2006]