The American Hospital Association on May 3 expressed support for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services request to the Office of Management and Budget to provide emergency clearance to allow the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration to move forward. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides $75 million for the three-year demonstration project that will study the effects of allowing Medicaid payment for inpatient stabilization of psychiatric patients aged 21 to 64 who express suicidal or homicidal gestures and are considered a danger to themselves or others.
"Allowing coverage for inpatient admission for emergency psychiatric treatment in non-governmental, freestanding psychiatric hospitals will improve access to and quality of care for psychiatric patients while reducing overcrowding in many community hospital emergency departments," the AHA said in a letter to CMS. The agency released draft documents of the solicitation and background materials it intends to use for the demonstration.
CMS requests OMB review and approval by May 9.
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