Don't show this message again
42 U.S. Code § 1395f. Conditions of and limitations on payment for services
(a) Requirement of requests and certificationsExcept as provided in subsections (d) and (g) and in section 1395mm of this title, payment for services furnished an individual may be made only to providers of services which are eligible therefor under section 1395cc of this title and only if—
(1)
written request, signed by such individual, except in cases in which the Secretary finds it impracticable for the individual to do so, is filed for such payment in such form, in such manner, and by such person or persons as the Secretary may by regulation prescribe, no later than the close of the period ending 1 calendar year after the date of service;
(2) a physician, or, in the case of services described in subparagraph (B), a physician, or a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or a physician assistant (as those terms are defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who does not have a direct or indirect employment relationship with the facility but is working in collaboration with a physician,,[1] or, in the case of services described in subparagraph (C), a physician, a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist (as such terms are defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who is working in accordance with State law, or a physician assistant (as defined in section 1395x(aa)(5) of this title) who is working in accordance with State law, who is enrolled under section 1395cc(j) of this title, certifies (and recertifies, where such services are furnished over a period of time, in such cases, with such frequency, and accompanied by such supporting material, appropriate to the case involved, as may be provided by regulations, except that the first of such recertifications shall be required in each case of inpatient hospital services not later than the 20th day of such period) that—
(A)
in the case of inpatient psychiatric hospital services, such services are or were required to be given on an inpatient basis, by or under the supervision of a physician, for the psychiatric treatment of an individual; and (i) such treatment can or could reasonably be expected to improve the condition for which such treatment is or was necessary or (ii) inpatient diagnostic study is or was medically required and such services are or were necessary for such purposes;
(B)
in the case of post-hospital extended care services, such services are or were required to be given because the individual needs or needed on a daily basis skilled nursing care (provided directly by or requiring the supervision of skilled nursing personnel) or other skilled rehabilitation services, which as a practical matter can only be provided in a skilled nursing facility on an inpatient basis, for any of the conditions with respect to which he was receiving inpatient hospital services (or services which would constitute inpatient hospital services if the institution met the requirements of paragraphs (6) and (9) of section 1395x(e) of this title) prior to transfer to the skilled nursing facility or for a condition requiring such extended care services which arose after such transfer and while he was still in the facility for treatment of the condition or conditions for which he was receiving such inpatient hospital services;
(C)
in the case of home health services, such services are or were required because the individual is or was confined to his home (except when receiving items and services referred to in section 1395x(m)(7) of this title) and needs or needed skilled nursing care (other than solely venipuncture for the purpose of obtaining a blood sample) on an intermittent basis or physical or speech therapy or, in the case of an individual who has been furnished home health services based on such a need and who no longer has such a need for such care or therapy, continues or continued to need occupational therapy; a plan for furnishing such services to such individual has been established and is periodically reviewed by a physician, a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or a physician assistant (as the case may be); such services are or were furnished while the individual was under the care of a physician, a nurse practitioner, a clinical nurse specialist, or a physician assistant (as the case may be), and, in the case of a certification made by a physician after January 1, 2010, or by a nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant (as the case may be) after a date specified by the Secretary (but in no case later than the date that is 6 months after March 27, 2020), prior to making such certification a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant must document that a physician, nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse-midwife (as defined in section 1395x(gg) of this title) as authorized by State law, or physician assistant has had a face-to-face encounter (including through use of telehealth, subject to the requirements in section 1395m(m) of this title, and other than with respect to encounters that are incident to services involved) with the individual within a reasonable timeframe as determined by the Secretary; or
(D)
in the case of inpatient hospital services in connection with the care, treatment, filling, removal, or replacement of teeth or structures directly supporting teeth, the individual, because of his underlying medical condition and clinical status or because of the severity of the dental procedure, requires hospitalization in connection with the provision of such services;
(3)
with respect to inpatient hospital services (other than inpatient psychiatric hospital services) which are furnished over a period of time, a physician certifies that such services are required to be given on an inpatient basis for such individual’s medical treatment, or that inpatient diagnostic study is medically required and such services are necessary for such purpose, except that (A) such certification shall be furnished only in such cases, with such frequency, and accompanied by such supporting material, appropriate to the cases involved, as may be provided by regulations, and (B) the first such certification required in accordance with clause (A) shall be furnished no later than the 20th day of such period;
(4)
in the case of inpatient psychiatric hospital services, the services are those which the records of the hospital indicate were furnished to the individual during periods when he was receiving (A) intensive treatment services, (B) admission and related services necessary for a diagnostic study, or (C) equivalent services;
(5)
with respect to inpatient hospital services furnished such individual after the 20th day of a continuous period of such services, there was not in effect, at the time of admission of such individual to the hospital, a decision under section 1395cc(d) of this title (based on a finding that utilization review of long-stay cases is not being made in such hospital);
(6)
with respect to inpatient hospital services or post-hospital extended care services furnished such individual during a continuous period, a finding has not been made (by the physician members of the committee or group, as described in section 1395x(k)(4) of this title, including any finding made in the course of a sample or other review of admissions to the institution) pursuant to the system of utilization review that further inpatient hospital services or further post-hospital extended care services, as the case may be, are not medically necessary; except that, if such a finding has been made, payment may be made for such services furnished before the 4th day after the day on which the hospital or skilled nursing facility, as the case may be, received notice of such finding;
(7) in the case of hospice care provided an individual—
(A)
(i) in the first 90-day period—
(I)
the individual’s attending physician (as defined in section 1395x(dd)(3)(B) of this title) (which for purposes of this subparagraph does not include a nurse practitioner or a physician assistant), and
(II)
the medical director (or physician member of the interdisciplinary group described in section 1395x(dd)(2)(B) of this title) of the hospice program providing (or arranging for) the care,
each certify in writing at the beginning of the period, that the individual is terminally ill (as defined in section 1395x(dd)(3)(A) of this title) based on the physician’s or medical director’s clinical judgment regarding the normal course of the individual’s illness, and
(ii)
in a subsequent 90- or 60-day period, the medical director or physician described in clause (i)(II) recertifies at the beginning of the period that the individual is terminally ill based on such clinical judgment;
(B)
a written plan for providing hospice care with respect to such individual has been established (before such care is provided by, or under arrangements made by, that hospice program) and is periodically reviewed by the individual’s attending physician and by the medical director (and the interdisciplinary group described in section 1395x(dd)(2)(B) of this title) of the hospice program;
(C)
such care is being or was provided pursuant to such plan of care;
(D) on and after January 1, 2011 (and, in the case of clause (ii), before October 6, 2014)—
(i)
(I)
subject to subclause (II), a hospice physician or nurse practitioner has a face-to-face encounter with the individual to determine continued eligibility of the individual for hospice care prior to the 180th-day recertification and each subsequent recertification under subparagraph (A)(ii) and attests that such visit took place (in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary); and
(II)
during the emergency period described in section 1320b–5(g)(1)(B) of this title, and, in the case that such emergency period ends before December 31, 2024, during the period beginning on the first day after the end of such emergency period described in such section 1320b–5(g)(1)(B) of this title and ending on December 31, 2024, a hospice physician or nurse practitioner may conduct a face-to-face encounter required under this clause via telehealth, as determined appropriate by the Secretary; and
(ii)
in the case of hospice care provided an individual for more than 180 days by a hospice program for which the number of such cases for such program comprises more than a percent (specified by the Secretary) of the total number of such cases for all programs under this subchapter, the hospice care provided to such individual is medically reviewed (in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary); and
(E)
on and after October 6, 2014, in the case of hospice care provided an individual for more than 180 days by a hospice program for which the number of such cases for such program comprises more than a percent (specified by the Secretary) of the total number of all cases of individuals provided hospice care by the program under this subchapter, the hospice care provided to such individual is medically reviewed (in accordance with procedures established by the Secretary); and
(8)
in the case of inpatient critical access hospital services, a physician certifies that the individual may reasonably be expected to be discharged or transferred to a hospital within 96 hours after admission to the critical access hospital.