SF 2521

1st Engrossment - 88th Legislature (2013 - 2014) Posted on 03/20/2014 08:26am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; redefining a designated rural area for the health
professional education loan forgiveness program; requiring a public comment
period for Medicaid waiver requests and state plan amendments; exempting
federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics from payment limits
for Medicare crossover claims; appropriating money for subsidies to federally
qualified health centers; amending Minnesota Statutes 2012, sections 144.1501,
subdivision 1; 256B.04, by adding a subdivision; 256B.0625, subdivision 57.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 144.1501, subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions
apply.

(b) "Dentist" means an individual who is licensed to practice dentistry.

(c) "Designated rural area" means new text begin a city new text end deleted text begin an area defined as a small rural area or
isolated rural area according to the four category classifications of the Rural Urban
Commuting Area system developed for the United States Health Resources and Services
Administration deleted text end new text begin that is:
new text end

new text begin (1) outside the seven-county metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121,
subdivision 2; and
new text end

new text begin (2) has a population under 15,000 new text end .

(d) "Emergency circumstances" means those conditions that make it impossible for
the participant to fulfill the service commitment, including death, total and permanent
disability, or temporary disability lasting more than two years.

(e) "Medical resident" means an individual participating in a medical residency in
family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.

(f) "Midlevel practitioner" means a nurse practitioner, nurse-midwife, nurse
anesthetist, advanced clinical nurse specialist, or physician assistant.

(g) "Nurse" means an individual who has completed training and received all
licensing or certification necessary to perform duties as a licensed practical nurse or
registered nurse.

(h) "Nurse-midwife" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program of
study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse-midwives.

(i) "Nurse practitioner" means a registered nurse who has graduated from a program
of study designed to prepare registered nurses for advanced practice as nurse practitioners.

(j) "Pharmacist" means an individual with a valid license issued under chapter 151.

(k) "Physician" means an individual who is licensed to practice medicine in the areas
of family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, or psychiatry.

(l) "Physician assistant" means a person licensed under chapter 147A.

(m) "Qualified educational loan" means a government, commercial, or foundation
loan for actual costs paid for tuition, reasonable education expenses, and reasonable living
expenses related to the graduate or undergraduate education of a health care professional.

(n) "Underserved urban community" means a Minnesota urban area or population
included in the list of designated primary medical care health professional shortage areas
(HPSAs), medically underserved areas (MUAs), or medically underserved populations
(MUPs) maintained and updated by the United States Department of Health and Human
Services.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256B.04, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:

new text begin Subd. 24. new text end

new text begin Medicaid waiver requests and state plan amendments. new text end

new text begin Prior to
submitting any Medicaid waiver request or Medicaid state plan amendment to the federal
government for approval, the commissioner shall publish the text of the waiver request
or state plan amendment, or a Web link to the text, in the State Register, and provide a
30-day public comment period. The commissioner shall consider public comments when
preparing the final waiver request or state plan amendment that is to be submitted to
the federal government for approval. The commissioner shall also publish in the State
Register notice of any federal decision related to the state request for approval, within 30
days of the decision. This notice must describe any modifications to the state request that
have been agreed to by the commissioner as a condition of receiving federal approval.
new text end

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2012, section 256B.0625, subdivision 57, is amended to read:

Subd. 57.

Payment for Part B Medicare crossover claims.

new text begin (a) new text end Effective for
services provided on or after January 1, 2012, medical assistance payment for an enrollee's
cost-sharing associated with Medicare Part B is limited to an amount up to the medical
assistance total allowed, when the medical assistance rate exceeds the amount paid by
Medicare.

new text begin (b) new text end Excluded from this limitation are payments for mental health services and
payments for dialysis services provided to end-stage renal disease patients. The exclusion
for mental health services does not apply to payments for physician services provided by
psychiatrists and advanced practice nurses with a specialty in mental health.

new text begin (c) Excluded from this limitation are payments to federally qualified health centers
and rural health clinics. Medical assistance payments to these providers shall equal the
difference between the provider rate specified in United States Code, title 42, section
1396a(bb), and the amount paid by Medicare.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTER SUBSIDIES.
new text end

new text begin $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2015 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of health to provide subsidies to federally qualified health centers under
Minnesota Statutes, section 145.9269. This appropriation is in addition to existing funding
for that purpose, and shall become part of the base funding for the subsidy program.
new text end