Appeal type: unknown
Decision: unknown

 The rules say that plans must pay for a medical service or item if regular Medicare would pay for it in this case. You can find this rule at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Section 422.101.  The rules say that payment for inpatient psychiatric hospital services is to be made only for active treatment. For services to be designated as active treatment they must:  1. be provided under an individualized treatment or diagnostic plan;  2. reasonably be expected to improve the patient's condition, or for the purpose of diagnosis; and  3. be supervised and evaluated by a physician.   You can find these rules in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Internet Only Manual, Publication 100-02, Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 2, Sections 30.2.2 and 30.2.2.1.  The rules say that alcohol rehabilitation can be provided in a variety of settings other than the hospital setting. In order for an inpatient hospital stay for alcohol rehabilitation to be covered under Medicare it must be medically necessary for the care to be provided in the inpatient hospital setting rather than in a less costly facility or on an outpatient basis. Inpatient hospital care for receipt of an alcohol rehabilitation program would generally be medically necessary where either (l) there is documentation by the physician that recent alcohol rehabilitation services in a less intensive setting or on an outpatient basis have proven unsuccessful and, as a consequence, the patient requires the supervision and intensity of services which can only be found in the controlled environment of the hospital, or (2) only the hospital environment can assure the medical management or control of the patient's concomitant conditions during the course of alcohol rehabilitation. (However, a patient's concomitant condition may make the use of certain alcohol treatment modalities medically inappropriate.)  In addition, the "active treatment" criteria (see the Medicare Benefit Policy Manual, Chapter 2, "Inpatient Psychiatric Hospital Services," 20) should be applied to psychiatric care in the general hospital as well as to psychiatric care in a psychiatric hospital. Since alcoholism is classifiable as a psychiatric condition the "active treatment" criteria must also be met in order for alcohol rehabilitation services to be covered under Medicare. (Thus, it is the combined need for "active treatment" and for covered care which can only be provided in the inpatient hospital setting, rather than the fact that rehabilitation immediately follows a period of detoxification which provides the basis for coverage of inpatient hospital alcohol rehabilitation programs.)  Generally 16-19 days of rehabilitation services are sufficient to bring a patient to a point where care could be continued in other than an inpatient hospital setting. An inpatient hospital stay for alcohol rehabilitation may be extended beyond this limit in an individual case where a longer period of alcohol rehabilitation is medically necessary. In such cases, however, there should be documentation by a physician which substantiates the need for such care. Where the rehabilitation needs of an individual no longer require an inpatient hospital setting, coverage should be denied on the basis that inpatient hospital care is not reasonable and necessary as required by 1862 (a)(l) of the Act. You can find this rule in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Internet Only Manual, Publication 100-03, Medicare National Coverage Determination (NCD) for Inpatient Hospital Stays for Treatment of Alcoholism (130.1).  The rules say that Medicare will not pay any expenses for items or services which are not medically necessary and reasonable for the diagnosis or treatment of illness or injury. This exclusion extends to claims for services which are provided in inappropriate settings. You can find this rule in the Social Security Act, Section 1862(a)(1).  If you want to read these Medicare rules, you can go to this website www.medicareappeal.com.  The Plan contract says that the Plan covers items and services in accordance with Medicare rules.