1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to human services; increasing medical 
  1.3             assistance reimbursement rates for certain outpatient 
  1.4             rehabilitation services; amending Minnesota Statutes 
  1.5             2002, section 256B.76. 
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 256B.76, is 
  1.8   amended to read: 
  1.9      256B.76 [PHYSICIAN ~~AND~~, DENTAL, AND OTHER PROVIDER 
  1.10  REIMBURSEMENT.] 
  1.11     (a) Effective for services rendered on or after October 1, 
  1.12  1992, the commissioner shall make payments for physician 
  1.13  services as follows: 
  1.14     (1) payment for level one Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
  1.15  Services' common procedural coding system codes titled "office 
  1.16  and other outpatient services," "preventive medicine new and 
  1.17  established patient," "delivery, antepartum, and postpartum 
  1.18  care," "critical care," cesarean delivery and pharmacologic 
  1.19  management provided to psychiatric patients, and level three 
  1.20  codes for enhanced services for prenatal high risk, shall be 
  1.21  paid at the lower of (i) submitted charges, or (ii) 25 percent 
  1.22  above the rate in effect on June 30, 1992.  If the rate on any 
  1.23  procedure code within these categories is different than the 
  1.24  rate that would have been paid under the methodology in section 
  1.25  256B.74, subdivision 2, then the larger rate shall be paid; 
  2.1      (2) payments for all other services shall be paid at the 
  2.2   lower of (i) submitted charges, or (ii) 15.4 percent above the 
  2.3   rate in effect on June 30, 1992; 
  2.4      (3) all physician rates shall be converted from the 50th 
  2.5   percentile of 1982 to the 50th percentile of 1989, less the 
  2.6   percent in aggregate necessary to equal the above increases 
  2.7   except that payment rates for home health agency services shall 
  2.8   be the rates in effect on September 30, 1992; 
  2.9      (4) effective for services rendered on or after January 1, 
  2.10  2000, payment rates for physician and professional services 
  2.11  shall be increased by three percent over the rates in effect on 
  2.12  December 31, 1999, except for home health agency and family 
  2.13  planning agency services; and 
  2.14     (5) the increases in clause (4) shall be implemented 
  2.15  January 1, 2000, for managed care. 
  2.16     (b) Effective for services rendered on or after October 1, 
  2.17  1992, the commissioner shall make payments for dental services 
  2.18  as follows: 
  2.19     (1) dental services shall be paid at the lower of (i) 
  2.20  submitted charges, or (ii) 25 percent above the rate in effect 
  2.21  on June 30, 1992; 
  2.22     (2) dental rates shall be converted from the 50th 
  2.23  percentile of 1982 to the 50th percentile of 1989, less the 
  2.24  percent in aggregate necessary to equal the above increases; 
  2.25     (3) effective for services rendered on or after January 1, 
  2.26  2000, payment rates for dental services shall be increased by 
  2.27  three percent over the rates in effect on December 31, 1999; 
  2.28     (4) the commissioner shall award grants to community 
  2.29  clinics or other nonprofit community organizations, political 
  2.30  subdivisions, professional associations, or other organizations 
  2.31  that demonstrate the ability to provide dental services 
  2.32  effectively to public program recipients.  Grants may be used to 
  2.33  fund the costs related to coordinating access for recipients, 
  2.34  developing and implementing patient care criteria, upgrading or 
  2.35  establishing new facilities, acquiring furnishings or equipment, 
  2.36  recruiting new providers, or other development costs that will 
  3.1   improve access to dental care in a region.  In awarding grants, 
  3.2   the commissioner shall give priority to applicants that plan to 
  3.3   serve areas of the state in which the number of dental providers 
  3.4   is not currently sufficient to meet the needs of recipients of 
  3.5   public programs or uninsured individuals.  The commissioner 
  3.6   shall consider the following in awarding the grants: 
  3.7      (i) potential to successfully increase access to an 
  3.8   underserved population; 
  3.9      (ii) the ability to raise matching funds; 
  3.10     (iii) the long-term viability of the project to improve 
  3.11  access beyond the period of initial funding; 
  3.12     (iv) the efficiency in the use of the funding; and 
  3.13     (v) the experience of the proposers in providing services 
  3.14  to the target population. 
  3.15     The commissioner shall monitor the grants and may terminate 
  3.16  a grant if the grantee does not increase dental access for 
  3.17  public program recipients.  The commissioner shall consider 
  3.18  grants for the following: 
  3.19     ~~(i)~~ (A) implementation of new programs or continued 
  3.20  expansion of current access programs that have demonstrated 
  3.21  success in providing dental services in underserved areas; 
  3.22     ~~(ii)~~ (B) a pilot program for utilizing hygienists outside 
  3.23  of a traditional dental office to provide dental hygiene 
  3.24  services; and 
  3.25     ~~(iii)~~ (C) a program that organizes a network of volunteer 
  3.26  dentists, establishes a system to refer eligible individuals to 
  3.27  volunteer dentists, and through that network provides donated 
  3.28  dental care services to public program recipients or uninsured 
  3.29  individuals; 
  3.30     (5) beginning October 1, 1999, the payment for tooth 
  3.31  sealants and fluoride treatments shall be the lower of (i) 
  3.32  submitted charge, or (ii) 80 percent of median 1997 charges; 
  3.33     (6) the increases listed in clauses (3) and (5) shall be 
  3.34  implemented January 1, 2000, for managed care; and 
  3.35     (7) effective for services provided on or after January 1, 
  3.36  2002, payment for diagnostic examinations and dental x-rays 
  4.1   provided to children under age 21 shall be the lower of (i) the 
  4.2   submitted charge, or (ii) 85 percent of median 1999 charges.  
  4.3      (c) Effective for dental services rendered on or after 
  4.4   January 1, 2002, the commissioner may, within the limits of 
  4.5   available appropriation, increase reimbursements to dentists and 
  4.6   dental clinics deemed by the commissioner to be critical access 
  4.7   dental providers.  Reimbursement to a critical access dental 
  4.8   provider may be increased by not more than 50 percent above the 
  4.9   reimbursement rate that would otherwise be paid to the 
  4.10  provider.  Payments to health plan companies shall be adjusted 
  4.11  to reflect increased reimbursements to critical access dental 
  4.12  providers as approved by the commissioner.  In determining which 
  4.13  dentists and dental clinics shall be deemed critical access 
  4.14  dental providers, the commissioner shall review: 
  4.15     (1) the utilization rate in the service area in which the 
  4.16  dentist or dental clinic operates for dental services to 
  4.17  patients covered by medical assistance, general assistance 
  4.18  medical care, or MinnesotaCare as their primary source of 
  4.19  coverage; 
  4.20     (2) the level of services provided by the dentist or dental 
  4.21  clinic to patients covered by medical assistance, general 
  4.22  assistance medical care, or MinnesotaCare as their primary 
  4.23  source of coverage; and 
  4.24     (3) whether the level of services provided by the dentist 
  4.25  or dental clinic is critical to maintaining adequate levels of 
  4.26  patient access within the service area. 
  4.27  In the absence of a critical access dental provider in a service 
  4.28  area, the commissioner may designate a dentist or dental clinic 
  4.29  as a critical access dental provider if the dentist or dental 
  4.30  clinic is willing to provide care to patients covered by medical 
  4.31  assistance, general assistance medical care, or MinnesotaCare at 
  4.32  a level which significantly increases access to dental care in 
  4.33  the service area. 
  4.34     (d) Effective July 1, 2001, the medical assistance rates 
  4.35  for outpatient mental health services provided by an entity that 
  4.36  operates: 
  5.1      (1) a Medicare-certified comprehensive outpatient 
  5.2   rehabilitation facility; and 
  5.3      (2) a facility that was certified prior to January 1, 1993, 
  5.4   with at least 33 percent of the clients receiving rehabilitation 
  5.5   services in the most recent calendar year who are medical 
  5.6   assistance recipients, will be increased by 38 percent, when 
  5.7   those services are provided within the comprehensive outpatient 
  5.8   rehabilitation facility and provided to residents of nursing 
  5.9   facilities owned by the entity. 
  5.10     (e) An entity that operates both a Medicare certified 
  5.11  comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility and a facility 
  5.12  which was certified prior to January 1, 1993, that is licensed 
  5.13  under Minnesota Rules, parts 9570.2000 to 9570.3600, and for 
  5.14  whom at least 33 percent of the clients receiving rehabilitation 
  5.15  services in the most recent calendar year are medical assistance 
  5.16  recipients, shall be reimbursed by the commissioner for 
  5.17  rehabilitation services at rates that are 38 percent greater 
  5.18  than the maximum reimbursement rate allowed under paragraph (a), 
  5.19  clause (2), when those services are (1) provided within the 
  5.20  comprehensive outpatient rehabilitation facility and (2) 
  5.21  provided to residents of nursing facilities owned by the entity. 
  5.22     (f) An entity that operates a Medicare certified 
  5.23  rehabilitation facility that was designated by the commissioner 
  5.24  of health as an essential community provider as of January 1, 
  5.25  2000, and for whom at least 25 percent of the clients receiving 
  5.26  rehabilitation services at the facility or in their homes in the 
  5.27  most recent calendar year are medical assistance recipients, 
  5.28  shall be reimbursed by the commissioner for rehabilitation 
  5.29  services provided on or after July 1, 2003, at rates that are 50 
  5.30  percent greater than the maximum reimbursement rate that would 
  5.31  otherwise be allowed for rehabilitation services provided by a 
  5.32  Medicare certified rehabilitation facility.  For purposes of 
  5.33  this paragraph, "rehabilitation services" means physical 
  5.34  therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and 
  5.35  audiology services.  In order to qualify for the reimbursement 
  5.36  rate authorized by this paragraph, a facility must annually 
  6.1   certify, in the time and manner specified by the commissioner, 
  6.2   that the medical assistance percentage of caseload requirement 
  6.3   was satisfied in the most recent calendar year.