Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-81.2 - [Effective 7/1/2025] Initial approval for nursing facility care

(1) Need for nursing facility care. Residents of nursing facilities must be in need of either nursing facility care or skilled nursing care. Payment will be made for nursing facility care residents only upon certification of the need for the level of care by a licensed physician of medicine or osteopathy and approval of the level of care by the department.

a. Decisions on level of care, subject to paragraph 81.2(1)"b," will be made by the department within two working days of receipt of medical information. The department determines whether the level of care provided or to be provided should be approved based on medical necessity and the appropriateness of the level of care under 441-subrules 79.9(1) and 79.9(2).

b. For residents subject to a Level II PASRR review pursuant to subrule 81.2(3), the level of care determination will be made as part of the Level II PASRR review, based on medical necessity and the appropriateness of the level of care under 441-subrules 79.9(1) and 79.9(2).

c. Adverse level of care decisions may be appealed to the department pursuant to 441-Chapter 7.

(2) Preadmission review. The department's contractor for PASRR screening and evaluation shall complete a Level I review for all persons seeking admission to a Medicaid-certified nursing facility, regardless of the source of payment for the person's care. When a Level I review identifies evidence for the presence of mental illness or intellectual disability, the department's contractor for PASRR evaluations shall complete a Level II review before the person is admitted to the facility.

a. Exceptions to Level II review. Persons in the following circumstances may be exempted from Level II review based on a categorical determination that, in that circumstance, admission to or residence in a nursing facility is normally needed and the provision of specialized services for mental illness or intellectual disability is normally not needed.

(1) The person's attending physician certifies that the person is terminally ill with death expected within six months, the person requires nursing care or supervision due to the person's physical condition, and the person is not a danger to self or others. If the person's nursing facility stay exceeds six months, a Level II review must be completed.

(2) The severity of the person's illness results in impairment so severe that the person could not be expected to benefit from specialized services, and the person does not present a danger to self or others. This category includes persons who are comatose, who function at brain-stem level, who are ventilatordependent, or who have diagnoses such as Parkinson's disease, Huntington's chorea, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), or congestive heart failure (CHF).

(3) The person is suffering from delirium. Exemptions made on a basis of delirium are valid until the delirium clears or for seven days, whichever is sooner.

(4) The person is in an emergency situation that requires protective services with placement in the nursing facility. A Level II review must be completed if the admission lasts more than seven days.

(5) The admission is for the purpose of providing respite to the person's caregiver. If the nursing facility stay exceeds 30 days, a Level II review must be completed.

(6) The person has dementia in combination with an intellectual disability.

(7) The person has been approved for specialized services in another facility based on a previous Level II evaluation, the specialized services still meet the person's needs, and the receiving facility agrees to provide the specialized services.

(8) The person is transferring directly from receiving acute hospital inpatient care and requires nursing facility services for the same acute physical illness for which hospital care was received, and the person's attending physician certifies before the admission that the person is likely to require less than 30 days of nursing facility services. If the person is later found to require more than 30 days of nursing facility care, a Level II review must be completed within 40 calendar days of the person's admission date.

(9) The person:

1. Is transferring to a nursing facility directly from receiving acute hospital inpatient care, and

2. Requires nursing facility services for convalescence from the same acute physical illness for which the person received hospital care, and

3. Is clearly sufficiently psychiatrically and behaviorally stable enough for nursing facility admission, and

4. Before entering the facility, has been certified by the attending physician as likely to require less than 60 days of nursing facility services.

b. Outcome of Level II review. The Level II review shall determine:

(1) Whether nursing facility care or skilled nursing care is medically necessary and appropriate under 441-subrules 79.9(1) and 79.9(2) for the person seeking admission;

(2) Whether the person seeking admission needs specialized services for mental illness as defined in paragraph 81.12(14)"b," using the procedures set forth in 42 CFR 483.134 (as amended to August 1, 2024); and

(3) Whether the person seeking admission needs specialized services for intellectual disability as defined in paragraph 81.12(14)"c," using the procedures set forth in 42 CFR 483.136 (as amended to August 1, 2024).

c. The department or its designee will review each Level II evaluation and plan for obtaining needed specialized services before the person's admission to a nursing facility to determine whether nursing facility care or skilled nursing care is medically necessary and whether the nursing facility is an appropriate placement.

d. Nursing facility payment under the Iowa Medicaid program will be made for Medicaid members residing in the nursing facility:

(1) Only if a Level I review was completed prior to admission;

(2) For persons with mental illness or intellectual disability, only if a Level II review has been completed, or an exception under paragraph 81.2(3)"a" has been approved, and it is determined by the department that nursing facility care or skilled nursing care is medically necessary and appropriate and that the person's treatment needs related to a mental illness or intellectual disability will be or are being met.

e. Adverse PASRR decisions may be appealed to the department pursuant to 441-Chapter 7.

f. A nursing facility requesting an administrative hearing regarding a PASRR determination must have the prior, express, signed, written consent of the resident or the resident's lawfully appointed guardian to request such a hearing. Notwithstanding any contrary provision in 441-Chapter 7, no hearing will be granted unless the nursing facility submits a document providing such resident's consent to the request for a state fair hearing. The document must specifically inform the resident that protected health information (PHI) may be discussed at the hearing and may be made public in the course of the hearing and subsequent administrative and judicial proceedings. The document must contain language that indicates the resident's knowledge of the potential for PHI to become public and that the resident knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently consents to the nursing facility's bringing the state fair hearing on the resident's behalf.

This rule is intended to implement Iowa Code sections 249A.2(6), 249A.3(2) "a," and 249A.4.

Notes

Iowa Admin. Code r. 441-81.2

Rescinded, effective 11/21/79. Adopted by IAB May 14, 2025/Volume XLVII, Number 23, effective 7/1/2025