Preadmission Screening and Resident Review
New in PASRR
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has initiated efforts to ensure California is preadmission compliant by July 1, 2023. From December 1, 2022 through January 31,2023, DHCS will be facilitating a pilot of the PASRR system. The pilot will allow six General Acute Care Hospitals (GACHs) to use the new PASRR system to complete the PASRR process for individuals transferring to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) prior to admission.
All other GACHs will be enrolled into the PASRR system from February 2023 through April of 2023. The GACH onboarding schedule, training, and implementation dates will be posted as soon as the information has been finalized. After they complete enrollment, the GACHs will be submitting Level I Screenings in the PASRR system which will allow the PASRR process to be completed before discharging an individual to a SNF per federal regulations.
Please advise Hospital Administrators to submit an Approver Certification Appointment form (located under the “Enroll” button below) and designate two Approvers who will be responsible for adding GACH staff to the PASRR online system, as well as, initiate electronic file transfers to the SNF on behalf of the hospital.
Effective January 2, 2023, SNFs may NOT admit individuals from the following hospitals without the completed PASRR process: Hi-Desert Medical Center, Mountains Community Hospital, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, Memorial Hospital Los Banos and Eisenhower Medical Center. If the SNFs accept admission without the completed PASRR process, Federal Financial Participation (FFP) will only be available for services after the PASRR process is completed.
About PASRR
The Nursing Home Reform Act was passed as part of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987 (OBRA-87), and amended by Public Law 100-203 and 101-508, creating the Preadmission Screening and Resident Review (PASRR) process. (Refer to the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) title 42, part 483, sections 483.100-483.138 to view PASRR regulations.)
The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), PASRR Section is responsible for determining if individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) and/or intellectual/developmental disability (ID/DD) or related conditions (RC) require:
- Nursing facility services, considering the least restrictive setting
- Specialized services
This is achieved by completing the PASRR process. The PASRR process consists of a Level I Screening, Level II Evaluation, and a final Determination.
Level I Screening
The Screening is submitted online by the facility and is a tool that helps identify possible SMI and/or ID/DD/RC.
Level II Evaluation
If the Screening is positive for possible SMI and/or ID/DD/RC, then a Level II Evaluation will be performed. The Level II Evaluation helps determine placement and specialized services. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is responsible for SMI Level II Evaluations, which by law must be performed by a third party contractor. The Department of Developmental Services (DDS) is responsible for ID/DD/RC Evaluations.
Determination
The SMI Determination will be available online and will include placement and treatment recommendations for the individual. The ID/DD/RC Determinations will be issued by DDS, please contact DDS for questions regarding the Determination.
Contact
Department of Health Care Services
All PASRR questions/requests need to be directed to the DHCS IT Service Desk. IT Service Desk requires a first name, last name, and phone number before a work order ticket can be created.
For questions related to a Level I Screening, Level II Evaluation, or Determination, please include the PASRR CID#.
DHCS IT Service Desk can be reached by email or by phone:
- Email: ITServiceDesk@dhcs.ca.gov
- Phone: (800) 579-0874 and select option 2
Support is available Monday through Friday from 7:30am – 5:30pm. Requests will not be processed after business hours, weekends, or state holidays.
For after-hours assistance with the PASRR Online System, please see the on call schedule below. Please note: Assistance at these numbers is for emergencies regarding PASRR system outages and will only be available outside of normal business hours (I.e. After 5PM on weekdays, weekends, and on holidays).
Treatment Authorization Rquests (TAR)
If you have questions related to TAR submissions or payment, please contact
Department of Developmental Services (DDS)
For questions related to ID/DD/RC Level II Evaluations and Determinations, please contact DDS.
- Phone: (916) 654-1954
- Fax: (916) 654-3256
California Department of Social Services (CDSS)
If you are dissatisfied with the Reconsideration process, you can request a State Fair Hearing with CDSS.