A group of behavioral health executives is calling for an end to Medicare’s lifetime limits on inpatient psychiatric treatment.
In a piece published in Health Affairs Forefront July 8, Imad Melhem, MD, chair of psychiatry and behavioral health at Geisinger Health System, Stephanie Eken, MD, chief medical officer at Acadia Healthcare and Andrew Lynch, PhD, chief strategy officer at Acadia, wrote that limits on lifetime inpatient psychiatric treatment are hurting patients.
Currently, Medicare only reimburses up to 190 days of inpatient psychiatric care for each beneficiary. There are more than 15,000 Medicare beneficiaries at or within 15 days of the 190-day limit, according to the Medicare Payment and Advisory Commission.
Proposals to repeal the 190-day limit have stalled in Congress.
The executives wrote that the limit is “out of step” with the chronic nature of mental illness and with policies for other types of care.
“A lifetime limit on Medicare coverage does not apply to hospital care for any other healthcare condition. And beyond Medicare, no other payer places a lifetime limit on psychiatric treatment,” the executives wrote.
Danville, Pa.-based Geisinger and Franklin, Tenn.-based Acadia operate two joint behavioral health facilities.
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