13 CSR 70-15.070
Inpatient Psychiatric Services for Individu
als Under Age Twenty-One
PURPOSE: This rule provides the legal basis where inpatient
psychiatric services provided eligible individuals under the age
of twenty-one might be afforded coverage for purposes of vendor
payment under the Title XIX Medicaid program.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: The secretary of state has determined that
publication of the entire text of the material that is incorporated by
reference as a portion of this rule would be unduly cumbersome or
expensive. This material as incorporated by reference in this rule
shall be maintained by the agency at its headquarters and shall
be made available to the public for inspection and copying at no
more than the actual cost of reproduction. This note applies only
to the reference material. The entire text of the rule is printed here.
(1) Pursuant to provisions of section 208.161, RSMo, MO Health
Net coverage will be afforded to eligible individuals under age
twenty-one (21) for inpatient psychiatric services provided un
der the following conditions:
(A) Under the direction of a physician; and
(B) In a psychiatric hospital facility or an inpatient psychiatric
program in a hospital, either of which is accredited by a
national organization whose psychiatric hospital accrediting
program has been approved by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid
Services (CMS) or is licensed by the hospital licensing authority
of Missouri; or
(C) In a psychiatric residential treatment facility (PRTF) that
is operated as a public institution by the Missouri Department
of Mental Health (DMH) and is exempt from the hospital
licensing law, that is accredited by the Joint Commission, the
Council on Accreditation, The Commission on Accreditation
of Rehabilitation Facilities, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) or
equivalent organization, and is certified as complying with
the requirements at 42 CFR 441 subpart D and the condition of
participation at 42 CFR 483 subpart G by the designated state
agency for which such authority has been authorized; or
(D) In a privately operated PRTF that is accredited by the Joint
Commission, the Council on Accreditation, the Commission on
Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities, Det Norske Veritas
(DNV), or equivalent organization, and is certified as complying
with the requirements at 42 CFR 441 subpart D and the condition
of participation at 42 CFR 483 subpart G by the designated state
agency for which such authority has been authorized; and
(E) For claimants under the age of twenty-one (21) or, if
receiving the services immediately before attaining the age of
twenty-one (21), not to extend beyond the earlier of the date—
1. Services are no longer required; or
2. Individual reaches the age of twenty-two (22).
(2) Reimbursement for inpatient psychiatric services, as provid
ed for in this rule, shall be made as follows:
(A) For psychiatric hospitals and inpatient psychiatric pro
grams within general hospitals, reimbursement will be calcu
lated in accordance with the provisions for inpatient hospital
care reimbursement at 13 CSR 70-15.010;
(B) For state-operated PRTF services for individuals under the
age of twenty-one (21), reimbursement will be calculated as
follows:
1. The MO HealthNet Division shall reimburse stateoperated PRTFs for services based on the individual participant’s
days of care multiplied by the facility’s Title XIX per diem rate
less any payments made by participants;
2. The per diem for a state-operated PRTF is calculated as
follows:
A. Determine the total costs from the second prior year
hospital cost report (i.e., FY 2021 per diem rate is based off the
hospital’s 2019 cost report) for PRTF services;
B. Trend the total cost of the state operated PRTF by
the Hospital Market Basket index as published in Healthcare
Cost Review by Institute of Health Systems (IHS), or equivalent
publication, regardless of any changes in the name of the
publication or publisher;
C. Determine the total PRTF patient days from the DMH
Customer Information Management, Outcomes and Reporting
(CIMOR) system for the second prior year to correspond with
the hospital cost report; and
D. Divide the trended cost as determined in subpara
graphs (2)(B)2.A. and (2)(B)2.B. of this rule by the total patient
days as determined in subparagraph (2)(B)2.C. of this rule to ar
rive at the state-operated PRTF per diem; and
3. The per diem is updated each state fiscal year using the
second prior year cost report;
(C) For private PRTF services for individuals under the age of
twenty-one (21), reimbursement will be calculated as follows:
1. Effective for dates of service on or after September 29,
2021, the division will reimburse private PRTFs on a prospective
per diem rate. The prospective Missouri private PRTF per diem
rate was created using a wage rate model which utilized data
derived from cost surveys prepared and submitted by potential
PRTF providers. These cost surveys were collected February
2021 or prior. The model specifically examines potential facil
ity, occupancy, staff to patient ratios, necessary nursing hours
per patient day, direct care and behavioral health professional
wage and overhead expense, and risk factors. For a detailed
breakdown of these calculations, see https://dss.mo.gov/mhd/
cs/psych/pdf/mo-prtf-wage-rate-build-model.pdf. The Missouri
Prospective PRTF Rate Methodology document is incorporated
by reference and made a part of this rule as published by the
Department of Social Services, MO HealthNet Division, 615
Howerton Court, Jefferson City, MO 65109, on its website at
https://dss.mo.gov/mhd/cs/psych/pdf/mo-prtf-wage-rate-buildmodel.pdf, October 1, 2021. This rule does not incorporate any
subsequent amendments or additions. The per diem rate is
included in the MO HealthNet Division (MHD) fee schedule,
which is incorporated by reference and made a part of this rule
as published by the Department of Social Services, MO Health
Net Division, 615 Howerton Court, Jefferson City, MO 65109,
August 13, 2021. This rule does not incorporate any subsequent
amendments or additions; and
(D) For state-operated and private PRTFs, medical leave days
and therapeutic leave days will be paid to the PRTF at fifty
percent (50%) of the per diem rate. Medical leave days include
inpatient hospital medical/surgical stays and inpatient hospital
psychiatric stays. Five (5) days of leave are allowed for medical/
surgical stays per treatment episode, and five (5) days of leave
are allowed for inpatient psychiatric stays per treatment
episode. Therapeutic leave is for purposes of transition from
the PRTF to the designated placement and must be included in
the participant’s plan of care. Ten (10) days of leave are allowed
for therapeutic leave per treatment episode.
(3) A written and signed certification of need for services must
be completed for every admission reimbursed by Medicaid that
attests to—
(A) Ambulatory care resources available in the community do
not meet the treatment needs of the youth;
(B) Inpatient treatment under the direction of a physician is
needed; and
(C) The services can reasonably be expected to improve the
patient’s condition, or prevent further regression, so that the
services will no longer be needed.
(4) The certifications of need for care shall be made by different
teams depending on the status of the individual patients as
follows:
(A) For an individual who is receiving Medicaid at the time
of admission, the certification of need shall be made by an
independent team of health professionals that—
1. Includes a physician;
2. Has competence in diagnosis and treatment of mental
illness, preferably in child psychiatry; and
3. Has knowledge of the individual’s situation;
(B) For an individual who applies for Medicaid while in the
facility, the certification of need shall be made by the treatment
facility interdisciplinary team responsible for the individual’s
plan of care as specified in section (5). The certification of need
is to be made before submitting a Medicaid claim for payment
and must cover any period for which Medicaid claims are
made; or
(C) For an individual who undergoes an emergency admission,
the certification of need shall be made by the treatment facility
interdisciplinary team responsible for the individual’s plan of
care as specified in section (5) within fourteen (14) days after
admission.
(5) The treatment facility’s interdisciplinary team shall be a
team of physicians and other personnel who are employed by,
or provide services to patients in, the facility.
(A) The team shall include, as a minimum, either—
1. A board-eligible or board-certified psychiatrist who is a
licensed physician;
2. A clinical psychologist who has a doctoral degree and
is licensed and a physician licensed to practice medicine or
osteopathy; or
3. A physician licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy
with specialized training and experience in the diagnosis and
treatment of behavioral health disorders, and a psychologist
who has a master’s degree or doctorate in clinical psychology
and is licensed.
(B) The team also shall include one (1) of the following:
1. A psychiatric social worker who is licensed;
2. A licensed registered nurse with specialized training or
one (1) year’s experience in treating individuals with behavioral
health disorders;
3. An occupational therapist who is licensed and who has
specialized training or one (1) year of experience in treating
individuals with behavioral health disorders; or
4. A psychologist who has a master’s degree or doctorate in
clinical psychology and is licensed.
(C) The team must be capable of performing the following
responsibilities:
1. Assessing the individual’s immediate and long-range
therapeutic needs, developmental priorities, and personal
strengths and liabilities;
2. Assessing the potential resources of the individual’s
family;
3. Setting treatment objectives; and
4. Prescribing therapeutic modalities to achieve the plan
of care objectives.
(6) Inpatient psychiatric services shall include active treatment
which means implementation of a professionally developed
and supervised individual plan of care, as described in section
(7), that meets the following requirements:
(A) Developed and implemented no later than fourteen (14)
days after admission; and
(B) Designed to achieve the participant’s discharge from
inpatient status at the earliest possible time.
(7) An individual plan of care is a written plan developed for
each participant to improve his/her condition to the extent that
inpatient care is no longer necessary. The plan of care shall—
(A) Be based on a diagnostic evaluation that includes exam
ination of the medical, psychological, social, behavioral, and
developmental aspects of the participant’s situation and re
flects the need for inpatient psychiatric care;
(B) Be developed by a team of professionals specified under
section (5) in consultation with the participant, and his/her
parents, legal guardians, or others in whose care s/he will be
released after discharge;
(C) State treatment objectives;
(D) Prescribe an integrated program of therapies, activities,
and experiences designed to meet objectives;
(E) Include, at an appropriate time, post-discharge plans and
coordination of inpatient services with partial discharge plans
and related community services to ensure continuity of care
with the participant’s family, school, and community upon
discharge; and
(F) Be reviewed every thirty (30) days by the treatment facility
interdisciplinary team specified in section (5) to provide the
following requirements:
1. Determine that services being provided are or were
required on an inpatient basis; and
2. Recommend changes in the plan as indicated by the
participant’s overall adjustment as an inpatient.
(8) Before admission or before authorization for payment, the
team described in section (4) of this rule must make medical,
psychiatric, and social evaluations of each applicant’s or
participant’s need for care in the hospital or PRTF. Each medical
evaluation must include the following elements:
(A) Diagnoses;
(B) Summary of present medical findings;
(C) Medical history;
(D) Mental and physical functional capacity;
(E) Prognoses; and
(F) A recommendation by a licensed physician concerning
admission to or continued care in the hospital or PRTF for
individuals who apply for Medicaid after admission.
(9) Audits to monitor facility or program compliance shall
be performed by a medical review agent as authorized by
the MO HealthNet Division. Inpatient admissions of July 1,
1991, and after will be subject to audits, which may include
up to one hundred percent (100%) of Medicaid admissions.
Documentation of certification of need, medical/psychiatric/
social evaluations, plan of care, and active treatment shall
be a part of the individual’s medical record. All required
documentation must be a part of the medical record at the
time of audit to be considered during the audit. Failure of the
medical record to contain the required documents at the time
of audit shall result in recoupment. The medical review agent’s
audit process is as follows:
(A) The facility has thirty (30) calendar days from the date
of the request to furnish medical records for desk audits. At
rates determined by the medical review agent, provider costs
associated with submission of records will be reimbursed.
Records not received within thirty (30) days will result in the
services being denied and the Medicaid payment recouped;
(B) Review of the certification of need, medical/psychiatric/
social evaluations, and plan of care documentation is performed
to determine compliance with this rule;
(C) A sample of claims is reviewed for quality of care;
(D) An initial review of the medical record information for
active treatment is performed by either a nurse who is licensed
or social worker reviewer who is licensed using a nationally
recognized, evidence-based clinical tool;
(E) If the medical record documentation regarding the
patient’s condition and planned services meet the criteria in
subsection (9)(D) of this rule, the services are approved by either
the nurse or social worker reviewer;
(F) If the criteria in subsection (9)(D) of this rule is not met, the
nurse or social worker reviewer refers the case to a physician
reviewer who is a licensed physician for a determination
of documentation and medical necessity. The physician
reviewer is not bound by criteria used by the nurse or social
worker reviewer. The physician reviewer uses his/her medical
judgment to make a determination based on the documented
medical facts in the record;
(G) If the physician reviewer denies the admission or days
of stay, the attending physician and facility shall be notified.
The facility may request of the medical review agent a
reconsideration review. The facility is notified of the medical
review agent’s reconsideration determination;
(H) Reconsideration determination is the final level of review
by the medical review agent. The division will accept the
medical review agent’s decision;
(I) Facilities are notified by the MO HealthNet Division if an
adjustment of Medicaid payments is required as a result of
audit findings;
(J) The following Medicaid policies apply for calculation of
Medicaid payments:
1. Medicaid shall reimburse nursing facility care provided
in the inpatient hospital or PRTF setting in accordance with 13
CSR 70-15.010;
2. No Medicaid payment shall be made on behalf of any
participant who is receiving inpatient hospital care and is not
in need of either inpatient or nursing facility care. No payment
will be made for outpatient services rendered on an inpatient
basis; or
3. Medicaid shall not pay for admissions or continued days
for social situations, placement problems, court commitments,
or abuse/neglect without medical risk; and
(K) Overpayment determinations may be appealed in accor
dance with section 208.156, RSMo.
AUTHORITY: sections 208.201 and 660.017, RSMo 2016.* This rule
was previously filed as 13 CSR 40-81.053. Emergency rule filed Sept.
24, 1981, effective Oct. 4, 1981, expired Jan. 13, 1982. Original rule
filed Sept. 24, 1981, effective Jan. 14, 1982. Emergency amendment
filed Sept. 13, 1991, effective Oct. 2, 1991, expired Jan. 29, 1992.
Amended: Filed June 18, 1991, effective Dec. 9, 1991. Emergency
amendment filed Aug. 13, 2021, effective Sept. 29, 2021, expired
March 27, 2022. Amended: Filed Aug. 13, 2021, effective March
30, 2022. Amended: Filed May 17, 2023, effective Dec. 30, 2023.
Emergency amendment filed Dec. 16, 2025, effective Dec. 31, 2025,
expired June 28, 2026. Amended: Filed Dec. 16, 2025, effective July
30, 2026.
*Original authority: 208.201, RSMo 1987, amended 2007, and 660.017, RSMo 1993,
amended 1995.