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HF 1532

1st Engrossment - 90th Legislature (2017 - 2018) Posted on 03/13/2017 04:03pm

KEY: stricken = removed, old language.
underscored = added, new language.

Bill Text Versions

Engrossments
Introduction Posted on 02/22/2017
1st Engrossment Posted on 03/13/2017

Current Version - 1st Engrossment

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A bill for an act
relating to human services; modifying home health services; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2016, sections 256B.0625, subdivision 6a; 256B.0652, subdivision 4;
256B.0653, subdivisions 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, by adding a subdivision.

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

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0625, subdivision 6a, is amended to
read:


Subd. 6a.

Home health services.

Home health services are those services specified in
Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0295 and sections 256B.0651 and 256B.0653. Medical assistance
covers home health services at a recipient's home residencenew text begin or in the community where
normal life activities take the recipient
new text end . Medical assistance does not cover home health
services for residents of a hospital, nursing facility, or intermediate care facility, unless the
commissioner of human services has authorized skilled nurse visits for less than 90 days
for a resident at an intermediate care facility for persons with developmental disabilities,
to prevent an admission to a hospital or nursing facility or unless a resident who is otherwise
eligible is on leave from the facility and the facility either pays for the home health services
or forgoes the facility per diem for the leave days that home health services are used. Home
health services must be provided by a Medicare certified home health agency. All nursing
and home health aide services must be provided according to sections 256B.0651 to
256B.0653.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0652, subdivision 4, is amended to read:


Subd. 4.

Home health services.

Home health services including skilled nurse visits
and home health aide visits must be authorized by the commissioner or the commissioner's
designee. Authorization must be based on medical necessity and cost-effectiveness when
compared with other care options. The commissioner must receive the request for
authorization of skilled nurse visits and home health aide visits within deleted text begin 20 workingdeleted text end new text begin 30 calendarnew text end
days of the start of servicenew text begin , and must receive the documentation of the face-to-face encounter
as specified in section 256B.0653, subdivision 7, with the submittal of the claim for payment
new text end .
When home health services are used in combination with personal care and home care
nursing, the cost of all home care services shall be considered for cost-effectiveness.

Sec. 3.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, subdivision 2, is amended to read:


Subd. 2.

Definitions.

For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the
meanings given.

(a) "Assessment" means an evaluation of the recipient's medical need for home health
agency services by a registered nurse or appropriate therapist that is conducted within 30
days of a request.

(b) "Home care therapies" means occupational, physical, and respiratory therapy and
speech-language pathology services provided in the home by a Medicare certified home
health agency.

(c) "Home health agency services" means services delivered deleted text begin in the recipient's home
residence, except as specified in section 256B.0625,
deleted text end by a home health agency to a recipient
with medical needs due to illness, disability, or physical conditionsnew text begin in settings permitted
under section 256B.0625, subdivision 6a
new text end .

(d) "Home health aide" means an employee of a home health agency who completes
medically oriented tasks written in the plan of care for a recipient.

(e) "Home health agency" means a home care provider agency that is Medicare-certified.

(f) "Occupational therapy services" mean the services defined in Minnesota Rules, part
9505.0390.

(g) "Physical therapy services" mean the services defined in Minnesota Rules, part
9505.0390.

(h) "Respiratory therapy services" mean the services defined in chapter 147C.

(i) "Speech-language pathology services" mean the services defined in Minnesota Rules,
part 9505.0390.

(j) "Skilled nurse visit" means a professional nursing visit to complete nursing tasks
required due to a recipient's medical condition that can only be safely provided by a
professional nurse to restore and maintain optimal health.

(k) "Store-and-forward technology" means telehomecare services that do not occur in
real time via synchronous transmissions such as diabetic and vital sign monitoring.

(l) "Telehomecare" means the use of telecommunications technology via live, two-way
interactive audiovisual technology which may be augmented by store-and-forward
technology.

(m) "Telehomecare skilled nurse visit" means a visit by a professional nurse to deliver
a skilled nurse visit to a recipient located at a site other than the site where the nurse is
located and is used in combination with face-to-face skilled nurse visits to adequately meet
the recipient's needs.

Sec. 4.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, subdivision 3, is amended to read:


Subd. 3.

Home health aide visits.

(a) Home health aide visits must be provided by a
certified home health aide using a written plan of care that is updated in compliance with
Medicare regulations. A home health aide shall provide hands-on personal care, perform
simple procedures as an extension of therapy or nursing services, and assist in instrumental
activities of daily living as defined in section 256B.0659, including assuring that the person
gets to medical appointments if identified in the written plan of care. Home health aide
visits deleted text begin mustdeleted text end new text begin maynew text end be provided in the recipient's homenew text begin or in the community where normal life
activities take the recipient
new text end .

(b) All home health aide visits must have authorization under section 256B.0652. The
commissioner shall limit home health aide visits to no more than one visit per day per
recipient.

(c) Home health aides must be supervised by a registered nurse or an appropriate therapist
when providing services that are an extension of therapy.

Sec. 5.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, subdivision 4, is amended to read:


Subd. 4.

Skilled nurse visit services.

(a) Skilled nurse visit services must be provided
by a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse under the supervision of a registered nurse,
according to the written plan of care and accepted standards of medical and nursing practice
according to chapter 148. Skilled nurse visit services must be ordered by a physician and
documented in a plan of care that is reviewed and approved by the ordering physician at
least once every 60 days. All skilled nurse visits must be medically necessary and provided
in the recipient's home residencenew text begin or in the community where normal life activities take the
recipient,
new text end except as allowed under section 256B.0625, subdivision 6a.

(b) Skilled nurse visits include face-to-face and telehomecare visits with a limit of up
to two visits per day per recipient. All visits must be based on assessed needs.

(c) Telehomecare skilled nurse visits are allowed when the recipient's health status can
be accurately measured and assessed without a need for a face-to-face, hands-on encounter.
All telehomecare skilled nurse visits must have authorization and are paid at the same
allowable rates as face-to-face skilled nurse visits.

(d) The provision of telehomecare must be made via live, two-way interactive audiovisual
technology and may be augmented by utilizing store-and-forward technologies. Individually
identifiable patient data obtained through real-time or store-and-forward technology must
be maintained as health records according to sections 144.291 to 144.298. If the video is
used for research, training, or other purposes unrelated to the care of the patient, the identity
of the patient must be concealed.

(e) Authorization for skilled nurse visits must be completed under section 256B.0652.
A total of nine face-to-face skilled nurse visits per calendar year do not require authorization.
All telehomecare skilled nurse visits require authorization.

Sec. 6.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, subdivision 5, is amended to read:


Subd. 5.

Home care therapies.

(a) Home care therapies include the following: physical
therapy, occupational therapy, respiratory therapy, and speech and language pathology
therapy services.

(b) Home care therapies must be:

(1) provided in the recipient's residencenew text begin or in the community where normal life activities
take the recipient
new text end after it has been determined the recipient is unable to access outpatient
therapy;

(2) prescribed, ordered, or referred by a physician and documented in a plan of care and
reviewed, according to Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0390;

(3) assessed by an appropriate therapist; and

(4) provided by a Medicare-certified home health agency enrolled as a Medicaid provider
agency.

(c) Restorative and specialized maintenance therapies must be provided according to
Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0390. Physical and occupational therapy assistants may be used
as allowed under Minnesota Rules, part 9505.0390, subpart 1, item B.

(d) For both physical and occupational therapies, the therapist and the therapist's assistant
may not both bill for services provided to a recipient on the same day.

Sec. 7.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, subdivision 6, is amended to read:


Subd. 6.

Noncovered home health agency services.

The following are not eligible for
payment under medical assistance as a home health agency service:

(1) telehomecare skilled nurses services that is communication between the home care
nurse and recipient that consists solely of a telephone conversation, facsimile, electronic
mail, or a consultation between two health care practitioners;

(2) the following skilled nurse visits:

(i) for the purpose of monitoring medication compliance with an established medication
program for a recipient;

(ii) administering or assisting with medication administration, including injections,
prefilling syringes for injections, or oral medication setup of an adult recipient, when, as
determined and documented by the registered nurse, the need can be met by an available
pharmacy or the recipient or a family member is physically and mentally able to
self-administer or prefill a medication;

(iii) services done for the sole purpose of supervision of the home health aide or personal
care assistant;

(iv) services done for the sole purpose to train other home health agency workers;

(v) services done for the sole purpose of blood samples or lab draw when the recipient
is able to access these services outside the home; and

(vi) Medicare evaluation or administrative nursing visits required by Medicare;

(3) home health aide visits when the following activities are the sole purpose for the
visit: companionship, socialization, household tasks, transportation, and education; deleted text begin and
deleted text end

(4) home care therapies provided in other settings such as a clinicdeleted text begin , day program,deleted text end or as
an inpatient or when the recipient can access therapy outside of the recipient's residencenew text begin ;
and
new text end

new text begin (5) home health agency services initiated without qualifying documentation of a
face-to-face encounter as specified in subdivision 7
new text end .

Sec. 8.

Minnesota Statutes 2016, section 256B.0653, is amended by adding a subdivision
to read:


new text begin Subd. 7. new text end

new text begin Face-to-face encounter. new text end

new text begin (a) A face-to-face encounter by a qualifying provider
must be completed for all home health services regardless of the need for prior authorization,
except when providing a one-time perinatal visit by skilled nursing. The face-to-face
encounter may occur through telemedicine as defined in section 256B.0625, subdivision
3b. The encounter must be related to the primary reason the recipient requires home health
services and must occur within the 90 days before or the 30 days after the start of services.
The face-to-face encounter may be conducted by one of the following practitioners, licensed
in Minnesota:
new text end

new text begin (1) a physician;
new text end

new text begin (2) a nurse practitioner or clinical nurse specialist;
new text end

new text begin (3) a certified nurse midwife; or
new text end

new text begin (4) a physician assistant.
new text end

new text begin (b) The allowed nonphysician practitioner, as described in this subdivision, performing
the face-to-face encounter must communicate the clinical findings of that face-to-face
encounter to the ordering physician. Those clinical findings must be incorporated into a
written or electronic document included in the recipient's medical record. To assure clinical
correlation between the face-to-face encounter and the associated home health services, the
physician responsible for ordering the services must:
new text end

new text begin (1) document that the face-to-face encounter, which is related to the primary reason the
recipient requires home health services, occurred within the required time period; and
new text end

new text begin (2) indicate the practitioner who conducted the encounter and the date of the encounter.
new text end

new text begin (c) For home health services requiring authorization, including prior authorization, home
health agencies must submit the qualifying documentation to the commissioner or the
commissioner's designee consistent with the requirements of section 256B.0652, subdivision
4.
new text end