Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services Office of Medicaid www.mass.gov/masshealth MassHealth Durable Medical Equipment Bulletin 17 December 2010 TO: Durable Medical Equipment Providers Participating in MassHealth FROM: Terence G. Dougherty, Medicaid Director RE: Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination for Hospital Beds and Prescription and Medical Necessity Review Form for Hospital Beds Background MassHealth has developed Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination for Hospital Beds (Guidelines), which are one in a series of publications developed by MassHealth to identify the clinical information MassHealth needs to determine medical necessity. MassHealth has also developed a MassHealth Prescription and Medical Necessity Review Form for Hospital Beds, including instructions for completing the form. Guidelines for Medical MassHealth requires prior authorization (PA) for all hospital beds. Necessity Determinations MassHealth reviews requests for PA on the basis of medical necessity. for Hospital Beds The recently developed Guidelines identify the clinical information MassHealth needs to determine medical necessity for hospital beds and specialized pediatric beds used in the home. They are based on generally accepted standards of practice, review of the medical literature, and federal and state policies and laws applicable to Medicaid programs. The Guidelines were prepared for medical professionals, including providers of durable medical equipment, to assist them in submitting documentation to MassHealth justifying the medical necessity of the proposed products or services. Hospital Bed Prescription Effective with PA requests submitted on or after January 1, 2011, and Medical Necessity providers are instructed to use the new MassHealth Prescription and Review Form Medical Necessity Review Form for Hospital Beds when requesting PA for hospital beds. Please follow the form’s instructions. Providers must maintain a copy of the completed and signed form in the member’s medical record. (continued on next page) Where to Obtain Copies Both the Guidelines and the MassHealth Prescription and Medical Necessity Review Form for Hospital Beds can be viewed on the MassHealth Web site at www.mass.gov/masshealth. Click on the link in the lower right corner for MassHealth Guidelines for Medical Necessity Determination. At the bottom of that Web page is a link to all of the Medical Necessity Review Forms. The medical necessity review form for hospital beds is fillable and can be submitted online, or downloaded and submitted by mail. Questions If you have any questions about the information in this bulletin, please contact MassHealth Customer Service at 1-800-841-2900, e-mail your inquiry to providersupport@mahealth.net, or fax your inquiry to 617-988-8974.