Swing Bed Program

Swing Bed Program. The Department may issue a Certificate of Need to any hospital in the State to utilize a portion of its beds for the swing bed concept, pursuant to Miss. Code Ann. § 41-7-191(7). Any such hospital must be in conformance with the federal regulations regarding the swing bed concept at the time it submits its CON application, except that such hospital may have more licensed beds or a higher average daily census than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing bed program. Any hospital meeting all federal requirements for participation in the swing bed program that receives a CON shall render services provided under the swing bed concept to any patient eligible for Medicare (Title XVIII of the Social Security Act) who is certified by a physician to be in need of such services. Page 16 — Mississippi State Department of Health No such hospital shall permit any patient who is eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare, or eligible only for Medicaid, to stay in the swing beds of the hospital for more than thirty (30) days per admission unless the hospital receives prior approval from the Division of Medicaid, Office of the Governor. Any hospital having more licensed beds or a higher average daily census than the maximum number specified in federal regulations for participation in the swing bed program that receives a CON shall develop a procedure to ensure that before a patient is allowed to stay in the swing beds of the hospital, there are no vacant nursing home beds available for that patient within a fifty (50) mile radius of the hospital. When any such hospital has a patient staying in its swing beds and the hospital receives notice from a nursing home within that radius that a vacant bed is available for that patient, the hospital shall transfer the patient to the nursing home within a reasonable time after receipt of the notice. Any hospital subject to the requirements of the two (2) preceding paragraphs may be suspended from participation in the swing bed program for a reasonable period of time if the Department, after a hearing complying with due process, determines that the hospital has failed to comply with any of those requirements. Suspension from the swing bed program shall be in the form of a written order. The hearing and appeal procedures of Chapter 5 of this Manual shall apply to such proceedings to the extent consistent with applicable law.