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The Legal Department articles are not intended to serve as legal advice and are offered for educational purposes only. The information provided should not be used as a substitute for independent legal advice and it is not intended to address every situation that could potentially arise. Please be aware that laws, regulations and technical standards change over time. As a result, it is important to verify and update any reference or information that is provided in the article.
This article is intended to serve as a basic training for therapists who provide mental health services through county MHPs.
Sara Kashing, J.D. Staff Attorney The Therapist May/June 2012
Since 1998, Medi-Cal mental health services have been provided through county-based Mental Health Plans (“MHPs”). Although counties have their own specific forms, policies and procedures for following Department of Mental Health protocols for Medi-Cal reimbursements, there are some key concepts regarding clinical assessments, client recovery plans, and progress notes that every county mental health provider should keep in mind when completing Medi-Cal related paperwork.
Background on the Consolidation of Medi-Cal Mental Health Services
As a result of statutory and regulatory changes occurring from 1995 to 1998, Medi-Cal funded mental health services that were once provided through fee-for-service- Medi-Cal1 and County Medi-Cal Short Doyle programs2 are now provided through a managed care system. The counties act as the local mental health plans.3
MHPs are responsible for the delivery and authorization of services. Although major changes are likely to occur throughout 2012, the Department of Mental Health (“DMH”) is currently responsible for oversight and implementation of services.4
County MHP services are for adults who have chronic and severe psychiatric disabilities. They also target children under age 21 who need mental health treatment services.
County mental health plans are responsible for providing all specialty mental health Medi-Cal services to Medi-Cal eligible individuals who have a covered diagnosis and who meet the eligibility criteria in state regulations.
Clinicians who wish to successfully navigate the Medi-Cal system should be familiar with four main aspects of Medi-Cal documentation: The Clinical Assessment, Medical Necessity, The Treatment Plan and Progress Notes.
Clinical Assessment
Purpose of the Clinical Assessment A patient’s mental health assessment serves a multitude of purposes. The primary purpose of the assessment, however, is to help the clinician and the treatment team to understand and describe the nature of the patient’s mental health problems and to create an appropriate treatment plan. The assessment also serves as the source of information which is used to document the patient’s eligibility for services under the Medi-Cal program.
Regulatory, or Medi-Cal imposed, objectives include determining whether a covered diagnosis is present and making sure the assessment information supports the diagnosis.
To conduct a thorough client assessment the following areas should be covered:
Always keep in mind that the assessment should be updated when additional information becomes available and/or the clinical picture changes significantly enough so that the initial assessment is no longer consistent with the current treatment.
Completing the Clinical Assessment All sections and items must be completed for the assessment to be considered adequate. This means that a clinician should enter “N/A” if the item is somehow not applicable or “N/AV” if the information is not available. In general, checking “none” or “no problem” eliminates the need for a written entry for that item, whereas checking that some aspect of the item is present does require a written explanation if space for writing is provided.
A clinician’s ultimate goal is to produce a Clinical Assessment that describes the client in depth and comprehensively, provides a good symptomatic and historical basis for a DSM-IV diagnosis, and illustrates any present medical necessity. (NOTE: Treatment is considered “medically necessary” when the patient has a primary diagnosis that is eligible for reimbursement, the patient’s life functioning is impaired, the treatment is intended to address the impairment and there is a reasonable likelihood that the treatment will benefit the patient. “Medical necessity” will be reviewed in greater detail further in the article.)
When recording a client’s presenting problem, practitioners should be sure to include information about when the presenting problem began and what behaviors or circumstances led to the need for the present assessment. In other words, clinicians should ask their clients to describe any problems or relevant conditions affecting their physical health and mental status. Typically, this will involve a discussion about any difficulties clients are having with functioning on a daily basis. For example, some clients may report that they are having difficulty meeting their responsibilities, carrying on social relations or managing their living arrangements and health. It is critical that the description of the presenting problem supports the diagnosis.
In all cases, a risk assessment must be conducted. This risk assessment includes asking clients about their risk of committing suicide and/or homicide. Information about the frequency of suicidal and/or homicidal thoughts and methods should be gathered. Clinicians should also ask whether their clients are at risk of experiencing abuse or victimization. If any current risks exist, clinicians should address the risks with appropriate follow-up through continued assessment, the treatment plan, and interdisciplinary notes. Notes should include any actions taken, and any recommendations and/or referrals given in response to the assessed risks.
Examples of risks that would need to be addressed include the following:
Any cultural information which seems relevant to a client’s treatment should always be entered because understanding a client’s cultural background is often times necessary in order to provide effective care. Cultural issues that are relevant to an assessment include, but are not limited to:
When assessing a client’s mental status, clinicians should gather information necessary for determining a client’s thought process (i.e., what is the client’s general quality and adequacy of understanding, reasoning and planning?). A clinician should determine whether a client is having any type of delusions or hallucinations. A client’s mood should also be taken into account and recorded as part of the assessment process.
An assessment of how the symptoms of a mental disorder impair functioning must be documented. Clinicians should clearly document when a daily dysfunction that justified services for the client is present. Finally, it is critical that clinicians document any dispositional actions that have been taken. Such dispositional actions might include referral to another clinic, individual or group therapy, or day treatment. Any recommendations or other community referrals given to the client or family should also be carefully documented.
Medical Necessity In order to successfully navigate the Medi-Cal system, it is necessary for a clinician to understand the nature of services provided under Medi-Cal and the criteria that are utilized to determine whether a person is eligible to receive such services. Because all services provided under Medi-Cal must be “medically necessary” it is important that clinicians understand the meaning of medical necessity and be able to document the treatments being provided to patients in the Medi-Cal program as being medically necessary.
Medical Necessity Defined
Treatment is considered “medically necessary” under the Medi-Cal guidelines when the following components are present:
Therefore, when making a determination as to whether the criteria have been met, practitioners should consider the following issues:
Medical Necessity Covered and Non-Covered Diagnoses Most Axis I DSM-IV diagnoses are included. The following is a list of diagnoses that are covered and accepted as principal diagnoses:
The following is a list of diagnoses that are not covered or accepted as principal diagnoses:
Medical Necessity Required Impairments and Required Interventions The severity of the psychiatric disability is also relevant to determining when the medical necessity criteria have been met.7 The regulations at Cal. Code Regs Title 9 §1830.205(b)(2) state that a person must have at least one of the following impairments as a result of a mental disorder/diagnosis:
Another important issue to consider when determining the presence of a medical necessity is whether the medical definition for MHP services is met. The “intervention criteria” are set out in subsection (b)(3). Cal. Code Regs. Title 9 §1830.205(b)(3) stating that a person must meet each of the intervention criteria listed below:
Treatment Plan What the Plan Should Cover The treatment plan, which is required for all services, must be written every 12 months and include the following:
Because the client plan drives services to clients, the plan must contain specific, observable, quantifiable goals, as well as proposed types of interventions, and proposed timeframes for the interventions. The goals listed in the plan should be related to community functioning and require services. In exceptional circumstances, if a service other than an Assessment, Crisis Intervention and/or Plan Development is provided during the intake period, before completion of the client recovery plan, clinicians should document the service to demonstrate its medical necessity. In other words, the Diagnosis Sheet must include a covered diagnosis and the gathered assessment information should be sufficient to support that diagnosis; the impairments must be adequately described and be significant enough to justify the service before the intake is completed; the planned intervention should address the impairment condition; and show that the client had input into the provision of the intervention and was in agreement with the intervention. There should be no periods of care without an operative Client Recovery Plan, with the exception of the intake period if services do not go beyond the intake period.
Completing the Plan The treatment objectives must be based upon the client diagnosis-dysfunction condition. Diagnostic symptoms should reflect the predominant symptoms, consistent with the assessment data, and contributory to the functional impairments for the client. Observable, measurable, functional impairments should be listed and operationally defined. The impairments should be individually based and represent how diagnostic symptoms present themselves in observable/measurable behavioral events or episodes. The following are examples of measurable objectives:
Progress Notes Definition and Purpose of Progress Notes The Progress Note is a narrative record of the following:
Progress Notes provide evidence of the patient’s need or the “medical necessity” for treatment at a particular point in time. In California, treatment programs or clinics that receive funding from the state Medi-Cal program are routinely visited by utilization-review staff whose job is to review treatment records, including progress notes, for documentation of medical necessity. In order to be Medi-Cal billable, the progress note must relate to the client’s mental health condition and covered diagnosis.
Furthermore, although there are no specific legal and ethical standards that dictate the form or content of a progress note, there are relevant legal and ethical standards that are applicable to clinical record-keeping in general. For example, California law requires therapists to maintain a record of treatment that would be typical of other, reasonable and prudent therapists.10 Ethical standards provided and enforced by professional associations such as CAMFT are also a source of guidance to therapists concerning issues of recordkeeping. The CAMFT Code of Ethics, section 3.2, states the following: “Marriage and family therapists maintain patient records, whether written, taped, computerized, or stored in any other medium, consistent with sound clinical practice.”
Content of Progress Notes Every note should contain a description of the client’s current condition, the problem or dysfunction being addressed during the session, provider interventions, and the client’s response to the interventions. On occasion, a description of where the client stands in the overall course of treatment is also appropriate because linking the interventions to the diagnosis and measurable objectives indicated on the Client Plan is good practice.
Reimbursable and Non-reimbursable Notes Interventions described in the progress notes need to address a principal covered diagnosis. Progress notes which focus on interventions for a secondary or Axis II excluded diagnosis (i.e., substance-related disorders or mental retardation) would result in a negative coverage determination in the event of an audit.
US Health Care Industry’s Upgrade to Claim Form 5010 and the Transition to ICD-10 for Diagnosis As of January 2012, all HIPAA covered entities are required to use Version 5010 claim forms. This means that any electronic transaction must now be submitted using Version 5010 versus the old Version 4010/4010A forms. Any electronic transactions that do not use Version 5010 claim forms are not HIPAA compliant and will be rejected. For those clinicians who were unaware of this fairly new requirement, it is important to note that with respect to providers who either work with insurance and/or clearinghouses, it is highly likely that this requirement has already been met. If you are concerned about whether you are doing what is required, check with the entities you are working with to determine whether you are in compliance.
In late 2013, HIPAA covered entities will be expected to have transitioned to ICD-10 for medical diagnosis and inpatient procedures coding. For behavioral health diagnosis this change will consist of a switch from numeric codes of three to five digits to alpha numeric codes of five to seven digits which will give a diagnosis higher specificity. Given that this requirement will not go into effect until October 1, 2013, there is no immediate need for therapists to do anything different at this time.
For more information about Version 5010 claim forms or the transition to ICD-10 for diagnosis, please visit Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services at www.cms.org. CAMFT will also be providing more information to members about the transition to ICD-10 as the 2013 deadline approaches.
Sara Jasper, JD, is a staff attorney for CAMFT. Sara is available to answer member calls regarding business, legal, and ethical issues.
References 1. Primarily acute psychiatric hospital care, outpatient psychiatrist, and psychological visits. 2. In 1972 Welf. & Inst. Code § 14021 was amended to add Short-Doyle community mental health services to the scope of benefits under the Medi-Cal program. The result was the development of the Short-Doyle/Medi-Cal (SD/MC) program in addition to the Fee-For-Service Medi-Cal (FFS/MC) program for mental health services. The SD/MC program provided cost-based reimbursement for a broad range of mental health services and a limited range of services for treatment of substance abuse. These mental health services are provided by the county directly or through providers which contract with the county. The FFS/MC program provided reimbursement for a comprehensive range of health services and a limited range of mental health services. Services are reimbursed on a fee-for-service basis, or within managed care contracts. These mental health FFS/MC services were provided primarily by private hospitals and private practitioners. 3. The authorizing Welf. & Inst. Code §§5775-5780 and 14680-14685. Medi-Cal funded services are often provided by entities that are contracted with County Mental Health. 4. Some of Medi-Cal mental health functions currently performed by DMH are to be transferred to the Department of Health Care Services by July 1, 2012. Those functions include: Medi-Cal Program Compliance, County Medi-Cal Program Technical Assistance, IT Support for Medi-Cal Systems and Subsystems,Data Management and Support for Medi-Cal Program, Medi-Cal Program and Policy Support, and Administrative and Financial Services in Support of the Medi-Cal Program. 5. DSM-IV refers to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (1994), published by the American Psychiatric Association, Washington D.C. 6. Title 9, Section 1830.205 7. The severity criteria can be found in subsection (b)(2) of the regulation. 8. For purposes of this section, a child is a person under the age of 21 years old. 9. Id. 10. California Business and Professions Code §§ 4982(v); 4992.3(s).