New Change to Chapter 8 BPM

Transmittal # R179BP
Issue Date 2014-01-14

Subject Manual Updates to Clarify Skilled Nursing Facility (SNF), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (IRF), Home Health (HH), and Outpatient (OPT) Coverage Pursuant to Jimmo vs. Sebelius

Transmittal 176, dated December 13, 2013, is being rescinded and replaced by Transmittal 179, to correct an error in Chapter 8, Section 30.4.1.1. The revisions in Transmittal 176 incorrectly indicated that skilled physical therapy services in the skilled nursing facility (SNF) setting must "...require the skills of a qualified therapist (not an assistant) for the performance of a safe and effective maintenance program." The regulations under 409.32(a) and (b) do not specify that an assistant cannot perform maintenance services in the SNF setting, unlike the home health and outpatient regulations which do make that distinction. Therefore, this updated transmittal corrects that particular language to eliminate the phrase "(not an assistant)". All other information remains the same.

Implementation Date 2014-01-07
CR # 8458
Publication # 100-02
MM Article # MM8458
MM Article Release Date 2013-12-06
MM Article Revised Date 2014-01-15
Related CR Release Date 2014-01-14
Related CR Effective Date 2014-01-07

http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Guidance/Transmittals/Downloads/R179BP.pdf

http://www.cms.gov/Outreach-and-Education/Medicare-Learning-Network-MLN/MLNMattersArticles/Downloads/MM8458.pdf