POS code 32: Nursing Facility.

The CMS definition

A facility which primarily provides to residents skilled nursing care and related services for the rehabilitation of injured, disabled, or sick persons, or, on a regular basis, health-related care services above the level of custodial care to other than individuals with intellectual disabilities.

That is the description CMS publishes for POS 32, Nursing Facility, in the Place of Service Code Set and in chapter 26 of the Medicare Claims Processing Manual. In the manual’s table it carries the Non-facility rate (NF) designation for payment under the Physician Fee Schedule.

What it means in plain terms

POS 32 is for residents of a nursing home who receive skilled nursing care for rehabilitation of injured, disabled or sick persons, or health-related care above the level of custodial care on a regular basis.

When it is used

• A physician or practitioner sees a resident of a nursing facility.
• CMS also tells hospice-related practitioners to use POS 32 for a nursing home when a hospice patient lives there and receives a home level of care.

Billing implications (Medicare)

The manual marks POS 32 NF, so Medicare physician fee schedule services are paid at the non-facility rate.

Choosing 31 when 32 applies, or the reverse, changes which rate class the claim falls in. The two definitions differ on the type of care (inpatient skilled nursing care for 31; skilled nursing for rehabilitation or regular health-related care for 32), and CMS directs billers to their MAC when the right code is unclear.

The general rule in section 10.6 of the manual is that the POS code “generally” reflects the actual setting where the beneficiary receives the face-to-face service, with two exceptions: a registered hospital inpatient or outpatient is reported with the hospital code regardless of where the encounter happens. The code goes in item 24B of the paper Form CMS-1500 or the matching field of the 837P.

Look-alike codes

• POS 31: Skilled nursing facility. Facility rate; inpatient skilled nursing care.
• POS 33: Custodial care facility. No medical component.
• POS 13: Assisted living facility. Congregate residential units with on-site support.
• POS 34: Hospice. Used for inpatient hospice care, not for a hospice patient living at home or in a nursing home.

For every code in one list, with the 02 vs 10 vs 11 telehealth verdict, see the place of service code lookup.

Sources

• CMS: Place of Service Code Set — official code list and descriptions, page database updated May 2, 2024 (retrieved 2026-11-02)
• CMS: Medicare Claims Processing Manual, Chapter 26 (Rev. 12779, issued 08-09-24) — sections 10.5 and 10.6, facility and non-facility designations and special considerations (retrieved 2026-11-02)

Every definition and rule above was read from these CMS pages on November 2, 2026. Payers revise code lists, contracts and policies, so confirm anything that affects a claim with the payer. CMS itself tells billers to check each payer (Medicare, Medicaid, private plans) for how it reimburses each code.