Commonwealth of Massachusetts 

Executive Office of Health and Human Services 

Office of Medicaid 

600 Washington Street 

Boston, MA 02111 

www.mass.gov/masshealth 



 

 MassHealth 

 Podiatry Bulletin 16 

 June 2008 

 

 

 TO: Podiatrists Participating in MassHealth 

 

FROM: Tom Dehner, Medicaid Director 

 

 RE: Elimination of Life and Safety Requirement 

 

 



Background Under current podiatry regulations, MassHealth pays only for podiatry 

services that are certified as necessary for the life and safety of the 
member. The podiatrist must have certification of medical necessity, 
written on letterhead from the member's primary care physician, and 
submit the life and safety certification with the claim for payment. The 
physician must explain the nature of the medical necessity. 

 

 

Elimination of the Effective for dates of service on or after July 1, 2008, MassHealth is 

Life and Safety eliminating the life-and-safety requirement for the provision of all podiatry 

Requirement services to MassHealth members. Accordingly, for dates of service on or 
after July 1, 2008, providers will not need to submit a life and safety 
certification with a claim for payment. However, podiatry services must be 
medically necessary in accordance with 130 CMR 450.204. Additionally, 
for members who belong to the PCC Plan, podiatry services will continue 
to require a referral from the member’s primary-care clinician (PCC) 
before the delivery of services. 

 

 

Effective Date Elimination of the life-and-safety requirement will be reflected separately 
in amended MassHealth podiatry regulations. Regardless of the effective 
date of the amended regulations, the elimination of the life-and-safety 
requirement is effective for dates of service on or after July 1, 2008. 

 

 

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.