or designee, may establish for each category or type of provider allowed by this paragraph (c) specific education, training, and experience requirements as necessary to promote the delivery of services by fully qualified individuals.

(iv) Physician referral and supervision. When physician referral and supervision is a prerequisite for CHAMPUS cost-sharing of the services of a provider authorized under this paragraph (c), such referral and supervision means that the physicians must actually see the patient to evaluate and diagnose the condition to be treated prior to referring the beneficiary to another provider and that the referring physician provides ongoing oversight of the course of referral related treatment throughout the period during which the beneficiary is being treated in response to the referral. Written contemporaneous documentation of the referring physician's basis for referral and ongoing communication between the referring and treating provider regarding the oversight of the treatment rendered as a result of the referral must meet all requirements for medical records established by this part. Referring physician supervision does not require physical location on the premises of the treating provider or at the site of treatment.

(3) Types of providers. Subject to the standards of participation provisions of this part, the following individual professional providers of medical care are authorized to provide services to CHAMPUS beneficiaries:

(i) Physicians. (A) Doctors of Medicine (M.D.).

(B) Doctors of Osteopathy (D.O.).

(ii) Dentists. Except for covered oral surgery as specified in §199.4(e) of this part, all otherwise covered services rendered by dentists require

(A) Clinical psychologist. For purposes of CHAMPUS, a clinical psychologist is an individual who is licensed or certified by the state for the independent practice of psychology and:

(1) Possesses a doctoral degree in psychology from a regionally accredited university; and

(2) Has has 2 years of supervised clinical experience in psychological health services of which at least 1 year is post-doctoral and 1 year (may be the post-doctoral year) is in an organized psychological health service training program; or

(3) As an alternative to paragraphs (c)(3)(iii)(A)(1) and (2) of this section is listed in the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology.

(B) Doctors of Optometry.

(C) Doctors of Podiatry or Surgical Chiropody.

(D) Certified nurse midwives.

(1) A certified nurse midwife may provide covered care independent of physician referral and supervision, provided the nurse midwife is:

(i) Licensed, when required, by the local licensing agency for the jurisdiction in which the care is provided; and

(ii) Certified by the American College of Nurse Midwives. To receive certification, a candidate must be a registered nurse who has completed successfully an educational program approved by the American College of Nurse Midwives, and passed the American College of Nurse Midwives National Certification Examination.

(2) The services of a registered nurse who is not a certified nurse midwife may be authorized only when the patient has been referred for care by a licensed physician and a licensed physican provides continuing supervision of the course of care. A lay midwife who is neither a certified nurse midwife nor a registered nurse is not a CHAMPUS-authorized provider, regardless of whether the services rendered may otherwise be covered.

a

(E) Certified nurse practitioner. Within the scope of applicable licensure or certification requirements, certified nurse practitioner may provide covered care independent of physician referral and supervision, provided the nurse practitioner is:

of

(2) Has at least a master's degree in social work from a graduate school of social work accredited by the Council on Social Work Education; and

(3) Has had a minimum of 2 years or 3,000 hours of post-master's degree supervised clinical social work practice under the supervision of a master's level social worker in an appropriate clinical setting, as determined by the Director, OCHAMPUS, or a designee.

NOTE: Patients' organic medical problems must receive appropriate concurrent management by a physician.

(G) Certified psychiatric nurse specialist. A certified psychiatric nurse specialist may provide covered care independent of physician referral and supervision. For purposes of CHAMPUS, certified a psychiatric nurse specialist is an individual who: (1) Is a licensed, registered nurse; and (2) Has at least a master's degree in nursing from a regionally accredited institution with a specialization in psychiatric and mental health nursing;

and

(3) Has had at least 2 years of postmaster's degree practice in the field of psychiatric and mental health nursing, including an average of 8 hours of direct patient contact per week; or

(4) Is listed in a CHAMPUS-recognized, professionally sanctioned listing

of clinical specialists in psychiatric and mental health nursing.

(H) Certified physician assistant. A physician assistant may provide care under general supervision of a physician (see §199.14(g)(1)(iii) of this part for limitations on reimbursement). For purposes of CHAMPUS, a physician assistant must meet the applicable state requirements governing the qualifications of physician assistants and at least one of the following conditions:

(1) Is currently certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants to assist primary care physicians, or

(2) Has satisfactorily completed a program for preparing physician assistants that:

(i) Was at least 1 academic year in length;

(ii) Consisted of supervised clinical practice and at least 4 months (in the aggregate) of classroom instruction directed toward preparing students to deliver health care; and

(iii) Was accredited by the American Medical Association's Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation; or

(3) Has satisfactorily completed a formal educational program for preparing program physician assistants that does not meet the requirement of paragraph (c)(3)(iii)(H)(2) of this section and had been assisting primary care physicians for a minimum of 12 months during the 18-month period immediately preceding January 1, 1987.

(I) Other individual paramedical providers. The services of the following individual professional providers of care to be considered for benefits on a feefor-service basis may be provided only if the beneficiary is referred by a physician for the treatment of a medicallydiagnosed condition and a physician must also provide continuing and ongoing oversight and supervision of the program or episode of treatment provided by these individual para-medical providers.

(1) Licensed registered nurses.

(2) Licensed registered physical therapists and occupational therapists. (3) Licensed registered physical therapists.

(4) Audiologists.

(5) Speech therapists (speech pathologists).

(iv) Extramedical individual providers. Extramedical individual providers are those who do counseling or nonmedical therapy and whose training and therapeutic concepts are outside the medical field. The services of extramedical individual professionals are coverable following the CHAMPUS determined allowable charge methodology provided such services are otherwise authorized in this or other sections of the regulation.

(A) Certified marriage and family therapists. For the purposes of CHAMPUS, a certified marriage and family therapist is an individual who meets the following requirements:

(1) Recognized graduate professional education with the minimum of an earned master's degree from a regionally accredited educational institution in an appropriate behavioral science field, mental health discipline; and (2) The following experience:

(i) Either 200 hours of approved supervision in the practice of marriage and family counseling, ordinarily to be completed in a 2- to 3-year period, of which at least 100 hours must be in individual supervision. This supervision will occur preferably with more than one supervisor and should include a continuous process of supervision with at least three cases; and

(ii) 1,000 hours of clinical experience in the practice of marriage and family counseling under approved supervision, involving at least 50 different cases; or (iii) 150 hours of approved supervision in the practice of psychotherapy, ordinarily to be completed in a 2- to 3-year period, of which at least 50 hours must be individual supervision; plus at least 50 hours of approved individual supervision in the practice of marriage and family counseling, ordinarily to be completed within a period of not less than 1 nor more than 2 years; and

(iv) 750 hours of clinical experience in the practice of psychotherapy under approved supervision involving at least 30 cases; plus at least 250 hours of clinical practice in marriage and family counseling under approved supervision, involving at least 20 cases; and

(3) Is licensed or certified to practice as a marriage and family therapist by

the jurisdiction where practicing (see paragraph (c)(3)(iv)(D) of this section for more specific information regarding licensure); and

(4) Agrees that a patients' organic medical problems must receive appropriate concurrent management by a physician.

(5) Agrees to accept the CHAMPUS determined allowable charge as payment in full, except for applicable deductibles and cost-shares, and hold CHAMPUS beneficiaries harmless for noncovered care (i.e., may not bill a beneficiary for noncovered care, and may not balance bill a beneficiary for amounts above the allowable charge). The certified marriage and family therapist must enter into a participation agreement with the Office of CHAMPUS within which the certified marriage and family therapist agrees to all provisions specified above.

(6) As of the effective date of termination, the certified marriage and family therapist will no longer be recognized as an authorized provider under CHAMPUS. Subsequent to termination, the certified marriage and family therapist may only be reinstated as an authorized CHAMPUS extramedical provider by entering into a new participation agreement as a certified marriage and family therapist.

(B) Pastoral counselors. For the purposes of CHAMPUS, a pastoral counselor is an individual who meets the following requirements:

(1) Recognized graduate professional education with the minimum of an earned master's degree from a regionally accredited educational institution in an appropriate behavioral science field, mental health discipline; and

(2) The following experience:

(i) Either 200 hours of approved supervision in the practice of pastoral counseling, ordinarily to be completed in a 2- to 3-year period, of which at least 100 hours must be in individual supervision. This supervision will occur preferably with more than one supervisor and should include a continuous process of supervision with at least three cases; and

(ii) 1,000 hours of clinical experience in the practice of pastoral counseling under approved supervision, involving at least 50 different cases; or

counselor by the jurisdiction where practicing. In jurisdictions that do not provide for licensure or certification, the provider must be certified by or eligible for full clinical membership in the appropriate national professional association that sets standards for the specific profession.

(2) Grace period for therapists or counselors in states where licensure/ certification is optional. CHAMPUS is providing a grace period for those therapists or counselors who did not obtain optional licensure/certification in their jurisdiction, not realizing it was a CHAMPUS requirement for authorization. The exemption by state law for pastoral counselors may have misled this group into thinking licensure was not required. The same situation may have occurred with the other therapist or counselor categories where licensure was either not mandated by the state or was provided under a more general category such as "professional counselors." This grace period pertains only to the licensure/certification requirement, applies only to therapists or counselors who are already approved as of October 29, 1990, and only in those areas where the licensure/certification is optional. Any therapist or counselor who is not licensed/certified in the state in which he/she is practicing by August 1, 1991, will be terminated under the provisions of $199.9. This grace period does not change any of the other existing requirements which remain in effect. During this grace period, membership or proof of eligibility for full clinical membership in a recognized professional association is required for those therapists or counselors who are not licensed or certified by the state. The following organizations are recognized for therapists or counselors at the level indicated: Full clinical member of the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy; membership at the fellow or diplomate level of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors; and membership in the National Academy of Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselors. Acceptable proof of eligibility for membership is a letter from the appropriate certifying organization. This opportunity for delayed certification/ licensure is limited to the counselor or

therapist category only as the language in all of the other provider categories has been consistent and unmodified from the time each of the other provider categories were added. The grace period does not apply in those states where licensure is mandatory.

(E) Christian Science practitioners and Christian Science nurses. CHAMPUS cost-shares the services of Christian Science practitioners and nurses. In order to bill as such, practitioners or nurses must be listed or be eligible for listing in the Christian Science Journal1 at the time the service is provided.

(d) Other providers. Certain medical supplies and services of an ancillary or supplemental nature are coverable by CHAMPUS, subject to certain controls. This category of provider includes the following:

(1) Independent laboratory. Laboratory services of independent laboratories may be cost-shared if the laboratory is approved for participation under Medicare and certified by the Medicare Bureau, Health Care Financing Administration.

(2) Suppliers of portable x-ray services. Such suppliers must meet the conditions of coverage of the Medicare program, set forth in the Medicare regulations, or the Medicaid program in that state in which the covered service is provided.

(3) Pharmacies. Pharmacies must meet the applicable requirements of state law in the state in which the pharmacy is located.

(4) Ambulance companies. Such companies must meet the requirements of state and local laws in the jurisdiction in which the ambulance firm is licensed.

(5) Medical equipment firms, medical supply firms. As determined by the Director, OCHAMPUS, or a designee.

(6) Mammography suppliers. Mammography services may be cost-shared only if the supplier is certified by Medicare for participation as a mammography

1 Copies of this journal can be obtained through the Christian Science Publishing Company, 1 Norway Street, Boston, MA 02115-3122 or the Christian Science Publishing Society, P.O. Box 11369, Des Moines, IA 50340.