Article - Billing and Coding: Psychiatric Partial Hospitalization Programs (A57053)

A team approach may be used in developing the initial psychiatric evaluation, but the physician (MD/DO) must document the mental status examination, physical examination, formulation, diagnosis, treatment plan, and certification.Partial hospitalization is active treatment that incorporates an individualizedtreatment plan, which describes a coordination of services wrapped around the particular needs of the patient, and includes a multidisciplinary team approach to patient care. The treatment plan is established by the physician, in consultation with appropriate staff members, and should be reviewed according to the changing needs of the patient's acute psychiatric illness, but never less than every 31 days. The treatment plan should be reviewed more frequently if the severity of the clinical condition or changes in the clinical condition of the patient (e.g., change of medication) make it reasonable to do so. The long and short-term treatment goals described in the treatment plan are the basis for evaluating the patient's response to treatment. Treatment goals should be designed to measure the response to treatment, for this relationship will be used in determining whether services are medically necessary. The treatment goals should be measurable, functional, time-framed, and directly related to the reason for admission. The treatment plan must include the specific treatments ordered, including reference to psychotropic medication management, the expected timeframes and outcomes for each treatment, and the discharge plan.Section 1833(e) of the Social Security Act requires services to be documented in order for payment to be made. Therefore, aseparate progress noteis required for each service rendered (e.g., HCPCS or revenue code billed). The progress note should be written by the team member rendering the service and should include a description of the nature of the treatment service, the patient's status (behavior, verbalizations, mental status) during the course of the service, the patient's response to the therapeutic intervention and its relation to the long or short term goals in the treatment plan. Each progress note should be legible, dated and signed, and include the credentials of the rendering provider. Documentation of group therapy sessions must indicate the name of the group, group type, an indication of the material under discussion, and the patient's response to the treatment encounter.Reporting of Service Units:Hospitals report the number of times the service or procedure, as defined by the HCPCS code, was performed. CAHs report the number of times the revenue code visit was performed (CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1[D]).Claims submitted by either CMHCs or hospital outpatient departments for partial hospitalization services must includea mental health diagnosis, and at least three partial hospitalization HCPCS codes for each day of service, one of which must be a psychotherapy HCPCS code (other than brief). Claims that do not pass the[Outpatient Code Editor]OCE edits will undergo further prepayment review.(65 FR 18454, April 7, 2000)Repetitive Part B services to a single individual from providers that bill FIs shall be billed monthly (or at the conclusion of treatment)...Examples of repetitive Part B services with applicable revenue codes include...Psychological Services, 0900... 0911-0919 (in a psychiatric facility)(CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 1, Section 50.2.2, Rev. 270, Issued 08/03/04, Effective 01/01/05).Partial hospitalization services provided by community mental health centers (CMHCs):Allitalicizedtext below is from CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1.1 unless otherwise specified.The CMHCs bill for partial hospitalization services on Form CMS-1450 or electronic equivalent under bill type 76X. ...The acceptable revenue codes are as follows:0914Individual TherapyRevenue CodeDescription0250Drugs and Biologicals043XOccupational Therapy0900Behavioral Health Treatment/Services0904Activity Therapy0910Psychiatric/Psychological Services (dates of service prior to 10/16/2003)0915Group Therapy0916Family Therapy0918Testing0942Education TrainingThe CMHCs are also required to report appropriate HCPCS codes as follows:Revenue CodesDescriptionHCPCS Code043XOccupational Therapy (Partial Hospitalization)*G01290900Behavioral Health Treatment/Services90791or907920904Activity Therapy (Partial Hospitalization)**G01760910Psychiatric General Services (dates of service prior to 10/16/2003)90801, 90802, 908990914Individual Psychotherapy90785, 90832, 90833, 90834, 90836, 90837, 90838, 90845, 90865 or 908800915Group PsychotherapyG0410 or G04110916Family Psychotherapy90846 or 908470918Psychiatric Testing96116, 96130, 96131, 96132, 96133, 96136, 96137, 96138, 96139, 961460942Education Training***G0177Section 4523 of the Balanced Budget Act (BBA)(P.L. 105-33), requires payment to be made under a prospective payment system for partial hospitalization services furnished by a CMHC. CMHCs must:Report HCPCS codes and modifiersReport line item dates of service; andReport in Form Locator (FL) 46, "Service Units," the number of times a particular service or procedure based on the HCPCS was performed (not the total number of visits for the billing period). (See CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1.1[E].)When reporting service units for HCPCS codes where the definition of the procedure does not include any reference to time (either minutes, hours or days), CMHCs should not bill for sessions of less than 45 minutes. (See CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1.1[E].)Partial hospitalization services provided by hospital outpatient departments:Allitalicizedtext below is from CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1 unless otherwise specified.Hospitals and CAHs report condition code 41 in FLs 18-28 (or electronic equivalent) to indicate the claim is for partial hospitalization services. They must also report a revenue code and the charge for each individual covered service furnished. In addition, hospital outpatient departments are required to report HCPCS codes. CAHs are not required to HCPCS code for this benefit(CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1[A]).Under component billing, hospitals are required to report a revenue code and the charge for each individual covered service furnished under a partial hospitalization program. In addition, hospital outpatient departments[other than CAHs]are required to report HCPCS codes. Component billing assures that only those partial hospitalization services covered under Section 1861(ff) of the Act are paid by the Medicare program(CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 260.1[A]).All hospitals are required to report condition code 41 in FLs 18-28 to indicate the claim is for partial hospitalization services. Hospitals use bill type 13X and CAHs use bill type 85X. The following special procedures apply.Bills must contain an acceptable revenue code. They are as follows:Revenue CodeDescription0250Drugs and Biologicals043XOccupational Therapy0900Behavioral Health Treatment/Services0904Activity Therapy0910Psychiatric/Psychological Services (dates of service prior to 10/16/2003)0914Individual Therapy0915Group Therapy0916Family Therapy0918Testing0942Education TrainingHospitals other than CAHs are also required to report appropriate HCPCS codes as follows:Revenue CodeDescriptionHCPCS Code043XOccupational Therapy*G01290900Behavioral Health Treatment/Services90791 or 907920904Activity Therapy (Partial Hospitalization)**G01760910Psychiatric General Services (dates of service prior to 10/16/2003)90801, 90802, 908990914Individual Psychotherapy90785, 90832, 90833, 90834, 90836, 90837, 90838, 90845, 90865, or 908800915Group TherapyG0410 or G04110916Family Psychotherapy90846 or 908470918Psychiatric Testing96116, 96130, 96131, 96132, 96133, 96136, 96137, 96138, 96139, 961460942Education Training***G0177Under component billing, Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are required to report an acceptable revenue code, in accordance with those listed above, and the charge for each individual covered service furnished under a partial hospitalization program.Hospitals and Community Mental Health Centers (CMHCs) are required to report all OPPS services that are provided on the same day on the same claim with the exception of claims containing condition codes 20, 21, or G0 (zero) or containing repetitive Part B services. If an individual OPPS service is provided on the same day as an OPPS repetitive service, the individual OPPS service must be billed separately, with all related services, from the OPPS monthly repetitive claim. However, if some of the services are for partial hospitalization, the provider shall place condition code 41 on the claim. For claims containing condition code 41, all services billed on the same day are to be included on the monthly bill for repetitive services. Non-repetitive OPPS services, exclusive of partial hospitalization services, are to be put on a single claim along with any packaged services. Repetitive services are billed monthly on a separate claim(CMS Publication 100-04,Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 4, Section 170, Rev. 239, Issued 07/23/04, Effective 01/01/05).Other Comments:For claims submitted to the Part A MAC: this coverage determination also applies within states outside the primary geographic jurisdiction with facilities that have nominated CGS Administrators to process their claims.Bill type codes only apply to providers who bill these services to the Part A MAC. Bill type codes do not apply to physicians, other professionals and suppliers who bill these services to the carrier or Part B MAC.Limitation of liability and refund requirements apply when denials are likely, whether based on medical necessity or other coverage reasons. The provider/supplier must notify the beneficiary in writing, prior to rendering the service, if the provider/supplier is aware that the test, item or procedure may not be covered by Medicare. The limitation of liability and refund requirements do not apply when the test, item or procedure is statutorily excluded, has no Medicare benefit category or is rendered for screening purposes.If the facility portion of partial hospitalization programs is denied as not medically necessary this does not mean that the physician service is also not medically necessary. The physician service to the patient may be medically necessary even though the level of service rendered in a partial hospitalization facility is not medically necessary.For outpatient settings other than CORFs, references to "physicians" throughout this policy include non-physicians, such as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists and physician assistants. Such non-physician practitioners, with certain exceptions, may certify, order and establish the plan of care as authorized by State law. (See Sections 1861(s)(2) and 1862(a)(14) of Title XVIII of the Social Security Act; 42 CFR, Sections 410.74, 410.75, 410.76 and 419.22; 58 FR 18543, April 7, 2000.)