PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Medicaid Purchasing Administration)
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Chapter 388-438 WAC, Alien medical programs; WAC 388-517-0500 State payment of medicare prescription drug copayments; WAC 388-531-1300 Podiatric physician-related services; chapter 388-535 WAC, Dental-related services; chapter 388-537 WAC, School-based healthcare services; chapter 388-544 WAC, Vision care; chapter 388-545 WAC, Therapies; chapter 388-547 WAC, Hearing aids; chapter 388-551 WAC, Hospice care; and any other related WAC chapters and sections.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 74.08.090, 43.88.290.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Upon order of the governor, the medicaid purchasing administration (MPA) must reduce its budget expenditures for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2011, by 6.3%. To achieve this budget reduction, MPA anticipates making cuts to the following adult medical services effective January 1, 2011: Dental, hospice, vision, podiatry, and hearing aids. Additional cuts will include school-based medical services, state-only alien emergency medical, interpreter services, medicare Part D copayments, and physical, occupational, and speech therapies.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.
Process for Developing New Rule: DSHS welcomes the public to take part in developing the rules. Anyone interested should contact the staff person identified below. At a later date, DSHS will file a proposal with the office of the code reviser with a notice of proposed rule making. A copy of the proposal will be sent to everyone on the mailing list and to anyone who requests a copy.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Kevin Sullivan, MPA Rules Coordinator, P.O. Box 45504, Olympia, WA 98504-5504, phone (360) 725-1344, fax (360) 586-9727, TTY 1-800-848-5429, e-mail kevin.sullivan@dshs.wa.gov.
October 4, 2010
Katherine I. Vasquez
Rules Coordinator