1.1 	A bill for an act
1.2 	relating to health; specifying criteria for coverage of medical assistance special 
1.3 	transportation services; increasing special transportation reimbursement rates; 
1.4 	extending the prohibition on the use of brokers or coordinators to manage special 
1.5 	transportation services; amending Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 
1.6 	256B.0625, subdivision 17.
1.7 	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

1.8 	Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2005 Supplement, section 256B.0625, subdivision 17, 
1.9 	is amended to read:
1.10 		Subd. 17.Transportation costs. (a) Medical assistance covers transportation costs 
1.11 	incurred solely for obtaining emergency medical care or transportation costs incurred 
1.12 	by eligible persons in obtaining emergency or nonemergency medical care when paid 
1.13 	directly to an ambulance company, common carrier, or other recognized providers of 
1.14 	transportation services.
1.15 	(b) Medical assistance covers special transportation, as defined in Minnesota Rules, 
1.16 	part 9505.0315, subpart 1, item F, if the recipient has a physical or mental impairment that 
1.17 	would prohibit the recipient from safely accessing and using a bus, taxi, other commercial 
1.18 	transportation, or private automobile.
1.19 	The commissioner may use an order by the recipient's attending physician to certify that 
1.20 	the recipient requires special transportation services. Special transportation includes 
1.21 	driver-assisted service to eligible individuals. Driver-assisted service includes passenger 
1.22 	pickup at and return to the individual's residence or place of business, assistance with 
1.23 	admittance of the individual to the medical facility, and assistance in passenger securement 
1.24 	or in securing of wheelchairs or stretchers in the vehicle. Special transportation providers 
1.25 	must obtain written documentation from the health care service provider who is serving 
2.1 	the recipient being transported, identifying the time that the recipient arrived. Special 
2.2 	transportation providers may not bill for separate base rates for the continuation of a trip 
2.3 	beyond the original destination. Special transportation providers must take recipients to 
2.4 	the nearest appropriate health care provider, using the most direct quickest route available. 
2.5 	The maximum medical assistance reimbursement rates for special transportation services 
2.6 	are:
2.7 	(1) $17 $....... for the base rate and $1.35 $....... per mile for services to eligible 
2.8 	persons who need a wheelchair-accessible van;
2.9 	(2) $11.50 $....... for the base rate and $1.30 $....... per mile for services to eligible 
2.10 	persons who do not need a wheelchair-accessible van; and
2.11 	(3) $60 for the base rate and $2.40 per mile, and an attendant rate of $9 per trip, for 
2.12 	services to eligible persons who need a stretcher-accessible vehicle.