Health and Behavior Assessment/Intervention  Medical Policy Article

**Abstract:**

_"Health and Behavior Assessment_ procedures are used to identify the
psychological, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social factors important
to the prevention, treatment or management of physical health problems. The
focus of the assessment is not on mental health but on the biopsychosocial
factors important to physical health problems and treatments." 1

_Health and Behavior Intervention_ procedures are used to modify the
psychological, behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and social factors directly
affecting the patient's physiological functioning, health and well being, or
specific disease-related problems.

Health Behavior Assessment and Intervention (HBAI) services described by CPT
codes 96156, 96158, 96159, 96164, 96165, 96167, and 96168, and any successor
codes, are billed by clinical social workers, marriage and family therapists
(MFTs), and mental health counselors (MHCs), in addition to clinical
psychologists.

**Indications:**

The Health and Behavioral Assessment, initial and Reassessment and
Intervention services may be considered reasonable and necessary for the
patient who meets _all_ of the following criteria:

  1. The patient has an underlying physical illness or injury, and
  2. There are indications that biopsychosocial factors may be significantly affecting the treatment or medical management of an illness or an injury, and
  3. The patient is alert, oriented and has the capacity to understand and to respond meaningfully during the face-to-face encounter, and
  4. The patient has a documented need for psychological evaluation or intervention to successfully manage his/her physical illness, and activities of daily living, and
  5. The assessment is not duplicative of other provider assessments

In addition, for a reassessment to be considered reasonable and necessary,
there must be documentation that there has been a sufficient change in the
mental or medical status warranting re-evaluation of the patient's capacity to
understand and cooperate with the medical interventions necessary to their
health and well being.

Health and Behavioral Intervention, individual or group (2 or more patients)
require that:

    1. Specific psychological intervention(s) and patient outcome goal(s) have been clearly identified, and
    2. Psychological intervention is necessary to address: 
        * Non-compliance with the medical treatment plan, or
        * The biopsychosocial factors associated with a new diagnosed physical illness, or an exacerbation of an established physical illness, when such factors affect symptom management and expression, health-promoting behaviors, health-related risk-taking behaviors, and overall adjustment to medical illness.

Health and Behavioral Intervention (with the family and patient present) is
considered reasonable and necessary for the patient who meets all of the
following criteria:

  1. The family representative* directly participates in the overall care of the patient, and
  2. The psychological intervention with the patient and family is necessary to address biopsychosocial factors that affect compliance with the plan of care, symptom management, health-promoting behaviors, health-related risk-taking behaviors, and overall adjustment to medical illness.

*For the purpose of this policy, all references to a family representative is defined as immediate family members only (i.e., husband, wife, siblings, children, grandchildren, grandparents, mother, and father), any primary caregiver who provides care on a voluntary, uncompensated, regular and sustained basis, or a guardian or healthcare proxy.

**Limitations:**

Health and Behavioral Assessment/Intervention will not be considered
reasonable and necessary for the patient who:

    1. Does not have an underlying physical illness or injury, or
    2. For whom there is no documented indication that a biopsychosocial factor may be significantly affecting the treatment, or medical management of an illness or injury (i.e., screening medical patient for psychological problems), or
    3. Does not have the capacity to understand and to respond meaningfully during the face to face encounter, because of: 
        * Dementia that has produced a severe enough cognitive defect for the psychological intervention to be ineffective.
        * Delirium
        * Severe and profound mental retardation
        * Persistent vegetative state/no discernible consciousness,
        * Impaired mental status, e.g., 
          1. disorientation to person, time, place, purpose, or
          2. inability to recall current season, location of own room, names and faces, or
          3. inability to recall that he or she is in a nursing home or skilled nursing facility
          4. Does not require psychological support to successfully manage his/her physical illness through identification of the barriers to the management of physical disease and activities of daily living, or
          5. For whom the conditions noted under the indications portion of this section are not met.

Health and Behavioral Intervention with the family and patient present will
not be considered reasonable and necessary for the patient if:

  1. It is not necessary to ensure patient compliance with the medical treatment plan, or
  2. The family representative does not directly participate in the plan of care, or
  3. The family representative is not present.
  4. There is no face to face encounter with the patient.

Because it does not represent a diagnostic or treatment service to the
patient, there is no coverage for CPT codes 96170, 96171.

Health and Behavioral Intervention services are not considered reasonable and
necessary to:

  1. Update or educate the family about the patient's condition
  2. Educate family members, primary care-givers, guardians, the health care proxy, or other members of the treatment team, e.g., health aides, nurses, physical or occupational therapists, home health aides, personal care attendants and co-workers about the patient's care plan.
  3. Assist in treatment-planning with staff
  4. Provide family psychotherapy or mediation
  5. Educate diabetic patients and diabetic patients' family members
  6. Deliver Medical Nutrition Therapy
  7. Maintain the patient's or family's existing health and overall well-being
  8. Provide personal, social, recreational, and general support services. Although such services may be valuable adjuncts to care, they are not medically necessary psychological interventions.

Examples of services not covered as health and behavioral interventions are:

  * Stress management for support staff
  * Replacement for expected nursing home staff functions
  * Music appreciation and relaxation
  * Craft skill training
  * Cooking classes
  * Comfort care services
  * Individual social activities
  * Teaching social interaction skills
  * Socialization in a group setting
  * Retraining cognition due to dementia
  * General conversation
  * Services directed toward making a more dynamic personality
  * Consciousness raising
  * Vocational or religious advice
  * General educational activities
  * Tobacco or caffeine withdrawal support
  * Visits for loneliness relief
  * Sensory stimulation
  * Games, including bingo games
  * Projects, including letter writing
  * Entertainment and diversionary activities
  * Excursions, including shopping outings, even when used to reduce a dysphoric state
  * Teaching grooming skills
  * Grooming services
  * Monitoring activities of daily living
  * Teaching the patient simple self-care
  * Teaching the patient to follow simple directives
  * Wheeling the patient around the facility
  * Orienting the patient to name, date, and place
  * Exercise programs, even when designed to reduce a dysphoric state
  * Memory enhancement training
  * Weight loss management
  * Case management services including but not limited to planning activities of daily living, arranging care or excursions, or resolving insurance problems
  * Activities principally for diversion
  * Planning for milieu modifications
  * Contributions to patient care plans
  * Maintenance of behavioral logs

Biofeedback is coded as 90901 and will not be covered as a health and
behavioral intervention.

**Coding Information:**

Procedure codes may be subject to National Correct Coding Initiative (NCCI)
edits or OPPS packaging edits. Refer to NCCI and OPPS requirements prior to
billing Medicare.

For services requiring a referring/ordering physician, the name and NPI of the
referring/ordering physician must be reported on the claim.

A claim submitted without a valid ICD-10-CM diagnosis code will be returned to
the provider as an incomplete claim under Section 1833(e) of the Social
Security Act.

The diagnosis code(s) must describe the patient's condition for which the
service was performed.

_Advance Beneficiary Notice of Noncoverage (ABN) Modifier Guidelines_ An ABN
may be used for services which are likely to be non-covered, whether for
medical necessity or for other reasons. Refer to CMS Publication 100-04,
_Medicare Claims Processing Manual,_ Chapter 30, for complete instructions.

If the initial health and behavior assessment or reassessment is unable to be
completed during a single encounter, the date of service indicated on the
claim should be the date on which the interview was finalized.

For health and behavior assessment and/or intervention services performed by a
physician, clinical nurse specialist (CNS), or nurse practitioner (NP),
Evaluation and Management (E&M) or Preventive Medicine services codes should
be used.

Services to patients for evaluation and treatment of mental illnesses should
be coded using a psychiatric services CPT code (90801-90899).

For patients that require psychiatric services (CPT codes 90801-90899) as well
as health and behavior assessment/intervention (96156, 96167, 96168), report
the predominant service performed.

The patient's medical record must contain documentation that fully supports
the medical necessity for services included within this LCD. (See "Indications
and Limitations of Coverage.") This documentation includes, but is not limited
to, relevant medical history, physical examination, and results of pertinent
diagnostic tests or procedures.

Each claim must be submitted with ICD-10-CM codes that reflect the condition
of the patient, and indicate the reason(s) for which the service was
performed. Claims submitted without ICD-10-CM codes will be returned.

Because of the impact on the medical management of the patient's disease,
documentation must show evidence of coordination of care with the patient's
primary medical care providers or medical provider responsible for the medical
management of the physical illness that the psychological
assessment/intervention was meant to address.

Documentation in the medical record must include:

_a. For the initial assessment_ , evidence to support that the assessment is
reasonable and necessary, and must include, at a minimum, the following
elements:

  * Date of initial diagnosis of physical illness, and
  * Clear rationale for why assessment is required, and
  * Assessment outcome including mental status and ability to understand and respond meaningfully, and
  * Goals and expected duration of specific psychological intervention(s), if recommended.

b. _For re-assessment_ , detailed progress notes to support that the
reassessment is reasonable and necessary must include the following elements:

  * Date of change in mental or physical status
  * Sufficient rationale for why re-assessment is required, and,
  * Clear indication of any precipitating events that necessitate re-assessment

_c. For the intervention service_ , evidence to support that the intervention
is reasonable and necessary must include, at a minimum, the following
elements:

  * Evidence that the patient has the capacity to understand and to respond meaningfully
  * Clearly defined psychological intervention planned
  * The goals of the psychological intervention
  * The expectation that the psychological intervention will improve compliance with the medical treatment plan
  * The response to the intervention
  * Rationale for frequency and duration of services

For all claims, the time duration (stated in minutes) spent in the health and
behavioral assessment or intervention encounter must be documented in the
record.

Documentation must be available to Medicare upon request.

**Sources of Information:**

This bibliography presents those sources that were obtained during the
development of this policy. National Government Services is not responsible
for the continuing viability of Web site addresses listed below.

  * Current Procedural Terminology, CPT 2009
  * Program Memorandum, Expanded Coverage of Diabetes Outpatient Self-Management Training, CR 1455, June 15, 2001
  * Program Memorandum, Medical Nutrition Therapy for Beneficiaries with Diabetes or Renal Disease, CR 1776, August 7, 2001
  * Carrier Advisory Committee Psychiatry Working Group
  * CPT Changes, _"An Insider's View", 2002, American Medical Association, pages 218-220._