92458 Dept. of Health Care Finance: Rules to clarify the criteria through which applicants may prove DC residency for the purpose of gaining enrollment to the D.C. HealthCare Alliance program.

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CARE FINANCE

 

NOTICE OF FINAL RULEMAKING

 

 

The Director of the Department of Health Care Finance, pursuant to the authority set forth in  Section 7a of the Health Care Privatization Amendment Act of 2001, effective July 12, 2001 (D.C. Law 14-18; D.C. Official Code §7-1405.01), as amended, and the Department of Health Care Finance Establishment Act of 2007, effective February 27, 2008 (D.C. Law 17-109; D.C. Official Code §7-771.05(6)), hereby gives notice of the adoption of final rulemaking to amend Chapter 33 of Title 22 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).  The purpose of these final rules is to clarify the criteria through which applicants may prove DC residency for the purpose of gaining enrollment to the D.C. HealthCare Alliance program. 

 

The emergency and proposed rules were adopted on August 27, 2009.  A notice of emergency and proposed rulemaking was published in the DC Register on September 4, 2009 (56 DCR 007345) and the emergency and proposed rules took effect on September 15, 2009.  No comments were received in response to the notice of emergency and proposed rulemaking.  No changes have been incorporated into the final rules.  These rules were submitted to the Council of the District of Columbia for approval pursuant to Section 7a of the Health Care Privatization Amendment Act of 2001.  The Council of the District of Columbia approved the proposed rules through Resolution No. 18-0605 on December 15, 2009.  These rules will become final upon publication of this notice in the DC Register.

 

The Alliance program was designed to be a safety net for District residents without any health insurance.  The program currently provides health benefits for more than 50,000 low-income residents.  Alliance enrollment has expanded rapidly, particularly in the past few years.  Consolidation of Alliance enrollment at the Department of Human Service Income Maintenance Administration (IMA) using a single Combined Application for public benefits has increased the accessibility of the program to many District residents previously unreached.  This final rulemaking protects the public welfare by insuring that only residents of the District of Columbia are able to obtain coverage through the Alliance, thereby preserving the availability of resources for the proper administration of the program for residents.  The clarifications contained in this rulemaking will allow greater integrity and accuracy in verifying residency of DC HealthCare Alliance applicants, while expanding and standardizing the possibilities through which an applicant can prove residency. 

 

 

Chapter 33 (Health Care Safety Net Administration) of Title 22 of the DCMR (Public Health and Medicine) is amended as follows:

Section 3304.4 shall be deleted in its entirety and amended to read as follows:

 

3304.4             Acceptable forms of verification (either copies or originals) for residency shall be limited to the following items in the name of the applicant:

 

(a)        A valid motor vehicle operator’s permit (or a non-driver identification card) that is issued by the District’s Department of Motor Vehicles;

 

(b)        A voter registration card with an address in the District of Columbia;

 

(c)        An unexpired lease, rental receipt, or rental agreement for real property located in the District of Columbia;

 

(d)       A deed, settlement agreement, or mortgage statement for real property located in the District of Columbia;

 

(e)        An unexpired homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy for real property located in the District of Columbia;

 

(h)        A Property Tax bill issued within the last sixty (60) days for real property located in the District of Columbia;

 

(f)        A utility bill (water, gas, electric, oil, cable, or landline telephone) issued within the last sixty (60) days for real property located in the District of Columbia;

 

(g)        A pay stub or earning statement received within the previous thirty (30) days with a District of Columbia address indicating on it that District of Columbia income taxes were withheld; or

 

(h)        Any other reasonable form of residency verification, as designated by the Department of Health Care Finance.

 

Section 3304.7 shall be deleted in its entirety and amended to read as follows:

 

3304.7             Applicants who are homeless or otherwise unable to produce forms of residency verification listed in Section 3304.4 may submit written confirmation from a verifiable source that the applicant resides in the District.  Written confirmation shall be supplied using a form (as designated by the Department of Health Care Finance), and shall be completed by one of the following:

 

(a)        A District of Columbia resident who can verify that the applicant lives in the District of Columbia.  The written confirmation must include the name, address, phone number, signature, and one proof of District of Columbia residency from the list in Section 3304.4 for the verifiable source; or

 

(b)        A non-profit social services organization located in District of Columbia that can verify that the applicant lives in the District.  The written confirmation must include the name, address, phone number, signature, and job title of the signatory and non-profit tax ID number of the organization.

 

 

Section 3304.8 shall be deleted in its entirety and amended to read as follows:

 

3304.8             The foregoing eligibility requirements and the procedures in § 3305 below shall not apply to the medical care and health services provided through the School Health Program or to persons who are in the custody of the Department of Corrections or the Metropolitan Police Department.

 

Section 3304.9 shall be deleted in its entirety.