3.0 Policy
3.1 Medically
necessary food and medical equipment and supplies necessary to administer
such food are covered by TRICARE when prescribed for dietary management
of a covered disease or condition. Medically necessary food includes
specialized formulas, a Low Protein Modified Food (LPMF) product
or an amino acid preparation product. Medically necessary food and
medical equipment and supplies may be covered when it is:
3.1.1 Furnished pursuant to the prescription
of a TRICARE authorized individual professional provider as described
in
32 CFR 199.6 (e.g.,
physician, certified Nurse Practitioner (NP), or a certified Physician
Assistant (PA), etc.) acting within the provider’s scope of license/certificate
of practice for the dietary management of a covered disease or condition
as listed in
paragraph 3.2; and
3.1.2 A specifically
formulated and processed product (as opposed to a naturally occurring foodstuff
used in its natural state) for the partial or exclusive feeding
of an individual by means of oral intake, or enteral feeding by
tube, or parenteral feeding by IV, or intraperitoneal administration;
and
3.1.3 Intended for the dietary management
of an individual who, because of therapeutic or chronic medical
needs, has limited or impaired capacity to ingest, digest, absorb,
or metabolize ordinary foodstuffs or certain nutrients, or who has
other special medically determined nutrient requirements, the dietary
management of which cannot be achieved by the modification of the
normal diet alone; and
3.1.4 Intended
to be used under medical supervision, which may include in a home
setting; and
3.1.5 Intended only for an individual
receiving active and ongoing medical supervision under which the
individual requires medical care on a recurring basis for, among
other things, instructions on the use of the food.
3.2 Covered
disease or conditions include:
• Inborn Errors of Metabolism
(IEM);
• Medical conditions of malabsorption;
• Pathologies of the alimentary
tract or the gastrointestinal tract; and,
• A neurological or physiological
condition.
3.3
Medically
Necessary Vitamins And Minerals
Medically necessary vitamins
and minerals, including prenatal vitamins for prenatal care (also see
Section 9.1), are covered when used for the
management of a covered disease or condition, as listed in
paragraph 3.2,
pursuant to a prescription or order of a TRICARE authorized individual professional
provider acting within the provider’s scope of license/certificate
of practice as described in
32 CFR 199.6.
3.4 Specialized Formulas
3.4.1 Specialized formulas, to include
amino acid based formulas, when covered as medically necessary food
under
paragraph 3.1, are listed in the “Enteral
Nutrition Product Classification List.” The list
at:
https://www.health.mil/rates.
3.4.2 Specialized formulas included
on the Enteral Nutrition Product Classification
List are covered for enteral and oral consumption.
3.5 Low Protein Modified Foods
(LPMFs)
3.5.1 LPMFs, when covered as medically
necessary foods under
paragraph 3.1, are those food products that
have been modified to be low in protein for use by individuals who
have been diagnosed with IEM (e.g., phenylketonuria (PKU), or maple
syrup urine disease), and are not typically readily available in
grocery stores. LPMFs are primary to the management of IEM, as they
help those diagnosed with the condition, avoid organ damage, grow
properly, and maintain or improve health status. LPMFs may be covered
pursuant to a prescription, when medically necessary and appropriate
for the treatment of IEM.
3.5.2 Contractor
Responsibilities - LPMFs
3.5.2.1 The contractor shall preauthorize
all prescribed LPMFs and ensure the LPMFs are medically necessary
and appropriate medical care for the treatment of IEM.
3.5.2.2 If preauthorization is not
obtained and the contractor finds the LPMFs is medically necessary
and appropriate and the care otherwise meets the requirements of
this policy, the payment reduction provision of the TRICARE Reimbursement
Manual (TRM),
Chapter 1, Section 28 applies.
3.5.2.3 If preauthorization is not
obtained by the beneficiary and the beneficiary purchases LPMF directly
from a vendor, and all policy criteria are met, the appropriate
out of network cost-share shall apply.
3.5.2.4 LPMF products are purchased
from vendors who specialize in the distribution of LPMFs. The contractor
shall include providers of LPMFs in their network as medical supply
firm providers.
3.6 Ketogenic
Diet
3.6.1 Inpatient
ketogenic diet is covered when it is part of a medically necessary
inpatient admission for epilepsy. Services and supplies will be
reimbursed under the Diagnosis Related Group (DRG) payment methodology.
3.6.2 Outpatient services and supplies
for ketogenic diet are covered for the treatment of seizures that
are refractory to anti-seizure medication. Covered supplies are
included on the list maintained by Noridian Administrative Services
and can be found at:
https://www.health.mil/rates.
3.7 Medical Nutritional Therapy/Medical
Nutritional Counseling
3.7.1 Medical nutritional therapy/medical
nutritional counseling required in the administration and maintenance
of TRICARE covered medically necessary foods, to include low protein
foods, for those covered conditions listed in
paragraph 3.2, may be covered
when medically necessary and appropriate.
3.7.2 Medical
nutritional therapy must be provided by a TRICARE authorized individual professional
provider described in
32 CFR 199.6 (e.g.,
physician, nurse, nutritionist, or Registered Dietician (RD)). If
required by
32 CFR 199.6,
the authorized provider (e.g., a nutritionist or RD) must be licensed
by the state in which the care is provided and must be under the
supervision of a physician who is overseeing the episode of treatment
or the covered program of services.
3.8 Banked Donor Milk (BDM)
3.8.1 Effective
for dates of service on or after January 1, 2019, BDM may be cost-shared
as a medically necessary food when all of the following conditions
are met:
3.8.1.1 The infant has one or more
of the following conditions:
• Infant born at Very Low Birth
Weight (VLBW) (less than 1,500g) or lower (e.g., Extremely Low Birth
Weight (ELBW) infants, < 1,000g);
• Gastrointestinal anomaly, metabolic/digestive
disorder, or recovery from intestinal surgery where digestive needs
require additional support;
• Diagnosed Failure-to-Thrive
where other feeding options have been exhausted or are contraindicated;
• Formula intolerance with either
(1) documented feeding difficulty or (2) weight loss (where other
feeding options have been exhausted or are contraindicated);
• Infant hypoglycemia;
• Congenital heart disease;
• Pre-or post-organ transplant;
or
• Other
serious health conditions when the use of BDM is medically necessary
and will support the treatment and recovery of the infant.
3.8.1.2 And own mother’s milk is contraindicated,
unavailable due to medical or psychological condition, or mother’s
milk is available but is insufficient in quantity or quality to
meet the infant’s dietary needs.
Note: If the birth mother is unavailable
due to the physical absence of the birth mother in extraordinary
circumstances (i.e., adoption, maternal death, deployment of Active
Duty Service Member (ADSM) mother), the own mother’s milk is considered
to be unavailable for the purposes of this paragraph.
3.8.2 BDM must be prescribed by a
TRICARE authorized individual professional provider described in
32 CFR 199.6 (e.g., physician). As required
by
32 CFR 199.6,
the authorized provider must be licensed by the state in which the
care is provided and must be under the supervision of a physician (if
not a physician) who is overseeing the episode of treatment or the
covered program of services.
3.8.3 Coverage
shall be extended for as long as medically necessary, not to exceed
12 months of age.
3.8.4 BDM must
be procured through a HMBANA (Human Milk Banking Association of
North America) accredited milk bank, and delivered through a TRICARE
authorized provider (e.g., pediatrician or inpatient hospital, or
the supplier [HMBANA-accredited milk bank]).
Note: Currently HMBANA-accredited
milk banks only exist in the United States and Canada. Therefore,
BDM is not available overseas, except for Canada.
3.8.5 Coverage
shall be limited to no more than 35 ounces per day, per infant.
3.8.6 Discontinuation
of coverage for BDM for ELBW/VLBW infants shall be considered on
a case-by-case basis. In general, this is considered to occur concluding
the 36th post-menstrual week for otherwise healthy infants; however,
continuation of coverage for BDM for healthy but ELBW/VLBW infants
after 36 weeks post-menses may be appropriate in certain cases upon
medical review. Continuation past 36 weeks post-menses may be covered
when BDM is documented as being medically necessary or appropriate
and all other conditions of coverage are met.
3.8.7 The
initial prescription shall describe the quantity and frequency of
the required BDM, and shall only be valid for 30 days.
3.8.8 Subsequent
prescriptions shall describe the quantity and frequency of the required
BDM, and must be renewed every 30 days.
3.8.9 In accordance with this section,
prescriptions for BDM require active medical management by the prescribing
provider. The contractor may require medical documentation demonstrating
active medical management, as well as documentation of medical necessity
to validate both the initial as well as ongoing prescriptions for
BDM, and to validate the frequency, quantity, and duration of treatment with
BDM.
3.8.10 BDM provided during an inpatient
stay shall be cost-shared the same as any other medical supply provided
during an inpatient stay.
3.8.11 BDM provided on an outpatient
basis shall be subject to the same copays and cost-sharing requirements
as other outpatient medical supplies.
4.0 Reimbursement
4.1 Medical
foods shall be reimbursed using the rate on the Durable Medical
Equipment, Prosthetics, Orthotics and Supplies (DMEPOS) fee schedule.
If there is no DMEPOS fee schedule rate, the allowable charge shall
be established in accordance with the TRM,
Chapter 1, Section 39;
Chapter 3, Section 1; and
Chapter 5, Sections 1 and
3, for BDM.
4.2 When
reimbursement is made in accordance with the TRM,
Chapters 3 and
5, especially
when the state prevailing or billed rate is used, the contractor
shall ensure the provisions of
32 CFR 199.9(b)(2),
(b)(7),
(c)(11) and
the TRICARE Operations Manual (TOM),
Chapter 13,
are followed to prevent fraud and abuse.
4.3 BDM
shall be reimbursed in accordance with TRM,
Chapter 1, Section 39. The beneficiary may be
required to pay out-of-pocket for BDM and submit a claim to the
contractor for reimbursement. Provisions are outlined in TOM,
Chapter 8, Section 1.
5.0 Exclusions
TRICARE covered medically necessary
food and vitamins do not include:
5.1 Food taken
as part of an overall diet designed to reduce the risk of a disease
or medical condition, or as weight-loss products, even if the food
is recommended by a physician or other health care professional.
5.2 Food marketed as gluten-free
for the management of celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
5.3 Food marketed for the management
of diabetes.
5.4 Vitamins or mineral preparations,
except as provided in
paragraph 3.3.
5.5 Nutritional
supplements administered in the absence of a covered disease or
a medical condition that is listed in
paragraph 3.2.
5.6 Megavitamin psychiatric therapy,
orthomolecular psychiatric therapy.
5.7 Items
used primarily for convenience or for features which exceed that
which is medically necessary (for example, prepackaged, liquid vs.
powder, etc.).
5.8 Nutritional products that are
marketed for use for individuals without medical conditions.
5.9 Naturally occurring foodstuff
used in its natural state, to include those that are naturally low
in protein. Excluded items are those not intended to be used under
the direction of a physician for the dietary treatment of an inborn
error of metabolism.
5.10 Healthcare
Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code B4104 is an enteral
formula additive. The enteral formula codes include all nutrient
components, including vitamins, mineral and fiber. As a result B4104
is not separately payable.
5.11 Specialized formulas, except
those covered in
paragraph 3.4.
5.12 BDM from any milk bank not
accredited by HMBANA.
5.13 Peer-to-peer
donation or sale of BDM.
5.14 More than
35 ounces of BDM per day, per infant.
5.15 BDM for healthy, normal birth
weight infants (even if own mother’s milk is unavailable).
5.16 BDM provided for convenience
(e.g., to facilitate the mother’s return to work).