POS code 54: Intermediate Care Facility.

The CMS definition

A facility which primarily provides health-related care and services above the level of custodial care to individuals but does not provide the level of care or treatment available in a hospital or SNF.

That is the description CMS publishes for POS 54, Intermediate Care Facility/Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities, 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 54 sits between custodial care (33) and a hospital or SNF (21, 31). It is for residents whose care is health-related but does not require hospital or skilled nursing level treatment.

When it is used

• A service is furnished at a facility that matches the CMS ICF/IID definition above.
• The CMS wording is positional: above custodial care, below hospital or SNF level. A facility that is a SNF is POS 31 and a nursing facility is POS 32, so match the definition rather than the name on the door.

Billing implications (Medicare)

The manual marks POS 54 NF, so Medicare physician fee schedule services are paid at the non-facility rate.

The manual rate designation applies to Medicare. CMS tells billers to check each payer, including Medicaid and private plans, for how it reimburses each code.

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 33: Custodial care facility. No medical component.
• POS 32: Nursing facility.
• POS 31: Skilled nursing facility. Facility rate.
• POS 14: Group home. Shared residence with supervision and minimal services.

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.