5474697 Health Care Finance, Department of - Notice of Emergency and Proposed Rulemakin - Governing Medicaid Fee Schedule

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH CARE FINANCE

 

NOTICE OF EMERGENCY AND PROPOSED RULEMAKING

 

The Director of the Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF or the Department), pursuant to the authority set forth in An Act to enable the District of Columbia (District) to receive federal financial assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act for a medical assistance program, and for other purposes, approved December 27, 1967 (81 Stat.774; D.C. Official Code § 1-307.02 (2014 Repl.)), and Section 6(6) of 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) (2012 Repl.)), hereby gives notice of the adoption, on an emergency basis, of a new Section 988, entitled “Medicaid Fee Schedule,” of Chapter 9 (Medicaid Program) of Title 29 (Public Welfare) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR).

 

DHCF reimburses Medicaid providers, other than institutional providers,  in accordance with the District’s approved State Plan for Medical Assistance. Medicaid rates are based upon a percentage of Medicare rates, and all rates are included on the Medicaid Fee Schedule, which is then posted on a website maintained by DHCF. The fee schedule requires periodic adjustments, when necessary, to reflect changes in: Federal rates;  Federal and District policy requirements; nationally-recognized coding systems; medical practice, and the relative value of services. These rules will require DHCF to publish a notice in the D.C. Register at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of changes to the Medicaid fee schedule.  

 

In order to prevent impediments that adversely affect access to quality Medicaid services and accurate reimbursements for services delivered by Medicaid providers, DHCF must have the ability to periodically update and adjust the fee schedule.  Accordingly, emergency action is necessary for the immediate preservation of the health, safety and welfare of persons receiving these services.

 

The emergency rulemaking was adopted on May 14, 2015 and became effective on that date.  The emergency rules shall remain in effect for one hundred and twenty (120) days until September 11, 2015, unless superseded by publication of a Notice of Final Rulemaking in the D.C. Register.  The Director of DHCF also gives notice of the intent to take final rulemaking action to adopt these proposed rules in not less than thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.

 

A new Section 988, MEDICAID FEE SCHEDULE, is added to Chapter 9, MEDICAID PROGRAM, of Title 29 DCMR, PUBLIC WELFARE, to read as follows:

 

988                  MEDICAID FEE SCHEDULE

 

988.1                              The Medicaid fee schedule includes reimbursement rates for Medicaid covered services and is posted at www.dc-medicaid.com.

 

988.2                              Medicaid covered services that are listed  on the fee schedule include, but are not limited to, the following services:

 

(a)                Laboratory and x-ray services;

 

(b)               Physicians’ services;

 

(c)                Medical care and other types of remedial care;

 

(d)               Home health services;

 

(e)                Dental services;

 

            (f)        Durable Medicaid Equipment (DME);

 

(f)                Diagnostic, screening, preventive, and rehabilitative services; and

 

(g)               Hospice care.

 

988.3                              DHCF shall review the Medicaid fee schedule periodically and may adjust the fee schedule where necessary to:

 

(a)                Comply with changes in federal or District rates, policies or requirements;

 

(b)               Comply with changes in nationally-recognized coding systems, such as Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS), Current Procedural Terminology (CPT), and Code on Dental Procedures and Nomenclature (CDT);

 

(c)                Establish an initial allowable amount for a new procedure or a procedure based on information that was not available when the fee schedule was established for the current calendar year; and

 

(d)               Adjust the allowable amount when DHCF determines that the current allowable amount is:

 

(1)               Not appropriate for the service provided;

 

(2)               Based on errors in data or calculation; or

 

(3)               Ineffective for proper or efficient administration of the State Medicaid Program.

 

988.4               DHCF shall publish a Public Notice in the D.C. Register which informs the public of changes to the Medicaid fee schedule. The Public Notice shall be published at least thirty (30) calendar days in advance of the change. The Notice shall describe the type of change, the reason for the change, the effective date of the change, and the Medicaid reimbursement rate.

 

988.5               In those instances where the Medicaid fee is also included in a rule, DHCF shall amend and publish the revised rule in the D.C. Register.

 

999                  DEFINITIONS

 

999.x               For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed:

 

Medicaid Fee Schedule - a comprehensive list of fee maximums used to reimburse providers on a fee-for-service basis.

 

 

Comments on the proposed rule shall be submitted, in writing, to Claudia Schlosberg, Senior Deputy Director/State Medicaid Director, Department of Health Care Finance, 441 4th Street, NW, Suite 900S, Washington, D.C. 20001, via telephone on [phone], via email at [e-mail], or online at www.dcregs.dc.gov, within thirty (30) days after the date of publication of this notice in the D.C. Register.  Copies of the proposed rule may be obtained from the above address.