MedicaidCoverageMedium impact
Correction: Medical respite care in physician's guide
Washington Apple Health·WA · Family Medicine, Internal Medicine, General Practice +1 more·Provider Alert
Effective date
Jul 1, 2022
We identified it
Jun 20, 2026
Summary
Washington State Medicaid (Apple Health) now covers medical respite care for homeless patients who are too ill to recover on the streets but don't need hospital-level care. This new covered benefit is retroactive to July 1, 2022 and requires providers to reference the updated billing guide for proper coding and documentation requirements.
Action Required
Immediately: Billing team must review the revised Physician-Related/Health Care Professional Services Billing Guide dated October 14, 2022 to understand medical respite care billing requirements. Update billing procedures to capture medical respite care services for homeless Apple Health patients. Train clinical staff on documentation requirements for medical necessity when treating homeless patients who qualify for medical respite care.