have adequate medical and nursing personnel qualified in emergency care to meet the written emergency procedures and needs anticipated by the facility.be staffed by appropriately qualified emergency physicians.be available to the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year.The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) believes that any FSED facility that presents itself as an ED, regardless of whether it is a HOPD or an IFEC, should: Therefore, CMS does not allow for Medicare or Medicaid payment for the technical component of services provided by IFECs. At this time, CMS does not recognize IFECs as EDs. Many states do not currently address licensing rules for IFECs. Some states have created licensing criteria to govern IFECs that closely follow the intent of the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) and other rules and regulations. IFECs can be owned by any individual or business entity. State licensing rules and regulations governing facilities that do not seek CMS approval for Medicare/Medicaid reimbursement for the technical component of their services are often inconsistent, unclear or non-existent.

By federal regulations, if the medical center or hospital system accepts Medicare or Medicaid payments for emergency services at a HOPD, the HOPD falls under the same rules and regulations of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) as the ED of the medical center or hospital, and must comply with all CMS Conditions of Participation (CoPs). HOPDs are owned and operated by medical centers or hospital systems. The number of FSEDs has increased in an ever-changing regulatory and health care environment. There are two distinct types of FSEDs: a hospital outpatient department (HOPD), also referred to as an off-site hospital-based or satellite emergency department (ED), and independent freestanding emergency centers (IFECs). A freestanding emergency department (FSED) is a licensed facility that is structurally separate and distinct from a hospital and provides emergency care.

Does medicare cover emergency room