Georgia Directive 21-EX-2

Directive 21-EX-2 advises Issuers to temporarily suspend preauthorization requirements for post-acute placements, including but not limited to skilled nursing facilities, home health care services, acute rehabilitation services, and long-term acute care hospitals. This Directive enables hospitals to readily and efficiently discharge patients to lower levels of care when medically appropriate. All Issuers must respond to discharge requests within twenty-four hours.
1. Home Health Care Services. The regulatory requirement of a physician-approved written plan of care for home health care services remains unchanged, except the State has permitted telehealth and verbal orders to be sufficient.
2. Skilled Nursing Facilities, Acute Rehabilitation Services and Long-Term Acute Care Hospitals (collectively, the “Facilities”). Issuers should provide hospitals with an up-to-date list of all in-network Facilities to facilitate discharges. Hospitals should use their best efforts to transfer insureds to in-network providers. Issuers may require such Facilities to provide notification of the admission to the Issuer.