[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 42, Volume 3]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 42CFR483.130]

[Page 527-530]
 
                         TITLE 42--PUBLIC HEALTH
 
  CHAPTER IV--CENTERS FOR MEDICARE & MEDICAID SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
                 HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES--(Continued)
 
PART 483--REQUIREMENTS FOR STATES AND LONG TERM CARE FACILITIES--Table of Contents
 
Subpart C--Preadmission Screening and Annual Review of Mentally Ill and 
                      Mentally Retarded Individuals
 
Sec. 483.130  PASARR determination criteria.

    (a) Basis for determinations. Determinations made by the State 
mental health or mental retardation authority as to whether NF level of 
services and specialized services are needed must be based on an 
evaluation of data concerning the individual, as specified in paragraph 
(b) of this section.

[[Page 528]]

    (b) Types of determinations. Determinations may be--
    (1) Advance group determinations, in accordance with this section, 
by category that take into account that certain diagnoses, levels of 
severity of illness, or need for a particular service clearly indicate 
that admission to or residence in a NF is normally needed, or that the 
provision of specialized services is not normally needed; or
    (2) Individualized determinations based on more extensive 
individualized evaluations as required in Sec. 483.132, Sec. 483.134, or 
Sec. 483.136 (or, in the case of an individual having both MR and MI, 
Secs. 483.134 and 483.136).
    (c) Group determinations by category. Advance group determinations 
by category developed by the State mental health or mental retardation 
authorities may be made applicable to individuals by the NF or other 
evaluator following Level I review only if existing data on the 
individual appear to be current and accurate and are sufficient to allow 
the evaluator readily to determine that the individual fits into the 
category established by the State authorities (see Sec. 483.132(c)). 
Sources of existing data on the individual that could form the basis for 
applying a categorical determination by the State authorities would be 
hospital records, physician's evaluations, election of hospice status, 
records of community mental health centers or community mental 
retardation or developmental disability providers.
    (d) Examples of categories. Examples of categories for which the 
State mental health or mental retardation authority may make an advance 
group determination that NF services are needed are--
    (1) Convalescent care from an acute physical illness which--
    (i) Required hospitalization; and
    (ii) Does not meet all the criteria for an exempt hospital 
discharge, which is not subject to preadmission screening, as specified 
in Sec. 483.106(b)(2).
    (2) Terminal illness, as defined for hospice purposes in Sec. 418.3 
of this chapter;
    (3) Severe physical illnesses such as coma, ventilator dependence, 
functioning at a brain stem level, or diagnoses such as chronic 
obstructive pulmonary disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's 
disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and congestive heart failure 
which result in a level of impairment so severe that the individual 
could not be expected to benefit from specialized services;
    (4) Provisional admissions pending further assessment in cases of 
delirium where an accurate diagnosis cannot be made until the delirium 
clears;
    (5) Provisional admissions pending further assessment in emergency 
situations requiring protective services, with placement in a nursing 
facility not to exceed 7 days; and
    (6) Very brief and finite stays of up to a fixed number of days to 
provide respite to in-home caregivers to whom the individual with MI or 
MR is expected to return following the brief NF stay.
    (e) Time limits. The State may specify time limits for categorical 
determinations that NF services are needed and in the case of paragraphs 
(d)(4), (5) and (6) of this section, must specify a time limit which is 
appropriate for provisional admissions pending further assessment and 
for emergency situations and respite care. If an individual is later 
determined to need a longer stay than the State's limit allows, the 
individual must be subjected to an annual resident review before 
continuation of the stay may be permitted and payment made for days of 
NF care beyond the State's time limit.
    (f) The State mental health and mental retardation authorities may 
make categorical determinations that specialized services are not needed 
in the provisional, emergency and respite admission situations 
identified in Sec. 483.130(d)(4)-(6). In all other cases, except for 
Sec. 483.130(h), a determination that specialized services are not 
needed must be based on a more extensive individualized evaluation under 
Sec. 483.134 or Sec. 483.136.
    (g) Categorical determinations: No positive specialized treatment 
determinations. The State mental health and mental retardation 
authorities must not make categorical determinations that specialized 
services are needed. Such a determination must be based on a more 
extensive individualized evaluation under Sec. 483.134 or Sec. 483.136 
to determine

[[Page 529]]

the exact nature of the specialized services that are needed.
    (h) Categorical determinations: Dementia and MR. The State mental 
retardation authority may make categorical determinations that 
individuals with dementia, which exists in combination with mental 
retardation or a related condition, do not need specialized services.
    (i) If a State mental health or mental retardation authority 
determines NF needs by category, it may not waive the specialized 
services determination. The appropriate State authority must also 
determine whether specialized services are needed either by category (if 
permitted) or by individualized evaluations, as specified in 
Sec. 483.134 or Sec. 483.136.
    (j) Recording determinations. All determinations made by the State 
mental health and mental retardation authority, regardless of how they 
are arrived at, must be recorded in the individual's record.
    (k) Notice of determination. The State mental health or mental 
retardation authority must notify in writing the following entities of a 
determination made under this subpart:
    (1) The evaluated individual and his or her legal representative;
    (2) The admitting or retaining NF;
    (3) The individual or resident's attending physician; and
    (4) The discharging hospital, unless the individual is exempt from 
preadmission screening as provided for at Sec. 483.106(b)(2).
    (l) Contents of notice. Each notice of the determination made by the 
State mental health or mental retardation authority must include--
    (1) Whether a NF level of services is needed;
    (2) Whether specialized services are needed;
    (3) The placement options that are available to the individual 
consistent with these determinations; and
    (4) The rights of the individual to appeal the determination under 
subpart E of this part.
    (m) Placement options. Except as otherwise may be provided in an 
alternative disposition plan adopted under section 1919(e)(7)(E) of the 
Act, the placement options and the required State actions are as 
follows:
    (1) Can be admitted to a NF. Any applicant for admission to a NF who 
has MI or MR and who requires the level of services provided by a NF, 
regardless of whether specialized services are also needed, may be 
admitted to a NF, if the placement is appropriate, as determined in 
Sec. 483.126. If specialized services are also needed, the State is 
responsible for providing or arranging for the provision of the 
specialized services.
    (2) Cannot be admitted to a NF. Any applicant for admission to a NF 
who has MI or MR and who does not require the level of services provided 
by a NF, regardless of whether specialized services are also needed, is 
inappropriate for NF placement and must not be admitted.
    (3) Can be considered appropriate for continued placement in a NF. 
Any NF resident with MI or MR who requires the level of services 
provided by a NF, regardless of the length of his or her stay or the 
need for specialized services, can continue to reside in the NF, if the 
placement is appropriate, as determined in Sec. 483.126.
    (4) May choose to remain in the NF even though the placement would 
otherwise be inappropriate. Any NF resident with MI or MR who does not 
require the level of services provided by a NF but does require 
specialized services and who has continuously resided in a NF for at 
least 30 consecutive months before the date of determination may choose 
to continue to reside in the facility or to receive covered services in 
an alternative appropriate institutional or noninstitutional setting. 
Wherever the resident chooses to reside, the State must meet his or her 
specialized services needs. The determination notice must provide 
information concerning how, when, and by whom the various placement 
options available to the resident will be fully explained to the 
resident.
    (5) Cannot be considered appropriate for continued placement in a NF 
and must be discharged (short-term residents). Any NF resident with MI 
or MR who does not require the level of services provided by a NF but 
does require specialized services and who has resided in a NF

[[Page 530]]

for less than 30 consecutive months must be discharged in accordance 
with Sec. 483.12(a) to an appropriate setting where the State must 
provide specialized services. The determination notice must provide 
information on how, when, and by whom the resident will be advised of 
discharge arrangements and of his/her appeal rights under both PASARR 
and discharge provisions.
    (6) Cannot be considered appropriate for continued placement in a NF 
and must be discharged (short or long-term residents). Any NF resident 
with MI or MR who does not require the level of services provided by a 
NF and does not require specialized services regardless of his or her 
length of stay, must be discharged in accordance with Sec. 483.12(a). 
The determination notice must provide information on how, when, and by 
whom the resident will be advised of discharge arrangements and of his 
or her appeal rights under both PASARR and discharge provisions.
    (n) Specialized services needed in a NF. If a determination is made 
to admit or allow to remain in a NF any individual who requires 
specialized services, the determination must be supported by assurances 
that the specialized services that are needed can and will be provided 
or arranged for by the State while the individual resides in the NF.
    (o) Record retention. The State PASARR system must maintain records 
of evaluations and determinations, regardless of whether they are 
performed categorically or individually, in order to support its 
determinations and actions and to protect the appeal rights of 
individuals subjected to PASARR; and
    (p) Tracking system. The State PASARR system must establish and 
maintain a tracking system for all individuals with MI or MR in NFs to 
ensure that appeals and future reviews are performed in accordance with 
this subpart and subpart E.

[57 FR 56506, Nov. 30, 1992; 58 FR 25784, Apr. 28, 1993]