NOTICE OF PROPOSED CHANGES ON EARLY & PERIODIC SCREENING, DIAGNOSTIC, & TREATMENT (EPSDT) – LEAD SCREENING & MISCELLANY IN THE REGULATIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & SOCIAL SERVICES

The Department of Health & Social Services proposes to adopt regulation changes in 7 AAC of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) lead screening; provider change reporting; prescribing occupational and physical therapy; and non-emergent ground ambulance authorization, including the following:

• Proposed Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) regulations comply with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services new requirement that lead screenings occur at 12 and 24 months of age.

• Proposed Medicaid provider enrollment regulations include the long-standing requirement that providers inform the Department of any changes in enrollment information within 30 days of the change.

• Proposed Medicaid regulations clarify that occupational and physical therapy services are covered when prescribed by a health care practitioner within the scope of his or her license. This does not reflect a change in procedure, but instead corrects an inadvertent omission that occurred when Alaska Medicaid regulations were moved from Title 7, Part 3, Chapter 43, to Title 7, Part 8, Chapters 105 – 160.

• Proposed Medicaid regulations eliminate the service (prior) authorization requirement for non-emergent ground ambulance services and replace it with a requirement that medical justification be submitted with a claim for reimbursement. This change will align non-emergent ground ambulance service authorization/justification requirements with that of emergent ground ambulance services, as the level of service is often unknown prior to transport.

You may comment on the proposed regulation changes, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed changes, by submitting written comments to Susan Dunkin by electronic mail at susan.dunkin@alaska.gov or at the mailing address at 4501 Business Park Blvd., Building L, Attn. Susan Dunkin, Anchorage, AK 99503-7167. The comments must be received not later than 5 p.m., on April 7, 2017.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed action to Susan Dunkin by electronic mail at susan.dunkin@alaska.gov or at the mailing address at 4501 Business Park Blvd., Building L, Attn. Susan Dunkin, Anchorage, AK 99503-7167. The questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period. The Department of Health & Social Services will aggregate its response to substantially similar questions and make the questions and responses available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System at https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/ and agency website at http://www.dhss.alaska.gov/dhcs/Pages/default.aspx .

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Susan Dunkin by e-mail at susan.dunkin@alaska.gov or by telephone at (907) 269-3638 not later than March 24, 2017, to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulation changes is available on the Alaska Online Public Notice System and by contacting Susan Dunkin by e-mail at susan.dunkin@alaska.gov or by telephone at (907) 269-3638.

After the public comment period ends, the Department of Health & Social Services will either adopt the proposed regulation changes or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulation may be different from that of the proposed regulation. You should comment during the time allowed if your interests could be affected.

Statutory authority: AS 47.05.010; AS 47.05.300; AS 47.07.030; AS 47.07.040.

Statutes being implemented, interpreted, or made specific: AS 47.05.010; AS 47.05.300; AS 47.07.030; AS 47.07.040.

Fiscal information: The proposed regulation changes are not expected to require an increased appropriation.