D. Special care units that provide general routine care

One of the requirements for recognition of a hospital special accommodation care unit is that it must be physically identifiable as separate from general accommodation care areas and it must normally render only special care. When a hospital places general care patients temporarily in special care units because all of the beds available for general care patients are occupied, Medicare still considers such special care units as meeting the program requirements of being physically separate. However, the hospital must be able to furnish sufficient documentation to satisfy the intermediary that only overflow general care patients are being placed in the special care units. The provider may not charge beneficiaries who are overflow from general care accommodations for care in special care units.