WSR 03-03-027

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Medical Assistance Administration)

[ Filed January 8, 2003, 3:53 p.m. ]

     Date of Adoption: January 8, 2003.

     Purpose: MAA recently revised the core provider agreement (CPA), DSHS 09-048 (REV. 06/2002), that medical providers sign in order to participate in medical assistance programs offered by DSHS to needy individuals. The CPA governs the relationship between MAA and those medical providers (including items such as reimbursement). The former CPA included certain "hold harmless" language that was inadvertently omitted from the new CPA. This regulatory amendment is intended to restore the applicability of that language, so that DSHS and the provider hold each harmless from legal action due to the negligence of either party. To avoid further delay, to ensure continued access to services for DSHS clients, and to avoid the expense of again revising the CPA, MAA is amending WAC 388-502-0010 Payment -- Eligible providers defined, to include the "hold harmless" provision.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-502-0010.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.08.090.

     Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.

     Reasons for this Finding: Without the immediate adoption of this amendment, access to medical care for DSHS clients will be negatively impacted. Medical providers will be reluctant to sign the CPA without the "hold harmless" provision. Without a signed CPA, medical providers cannot be reimbursed by MAA. Without the prospect of reimbursement from MAA, providers will stop accepting DSHS clients as patients.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
     Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.

January 7, 2003

Bonita H. Jacques

for Brian H. Lindgren, Manager

Rules and Policies Assistance Unit

3197.2
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 01-07-076, filed 3/20/01, effective 4/20/01)

WAC 388-502-0010   Payment -- Eligible providers defined.   The department reimburses enrolled providers for covered medical services, equipment and supplies they provide to eligible clients.

     (1) To be eligible for enrollment, a provider must:

     (a) Be licensed, certified, accredited, or registered according to Washington state laws and rules; and

     (b) Meet the conditions in this chapter and chapters regulating the specific type of provider, program, and/or service.

     (2) To enroll, an eligible provider must sign a core provider agreement or a contract with the department and receive a unique provider number. (Note: Section 13 of the core provider agreement, DSHS 09-048 (REV. 06/2002), is hereby rescinded. The department and each provider signing a core provider agreement will hold each other harmless from a legal action based on the negligent actions or omissions of either party under the terms of the agreement.)

     (3) Eligible providers listed in this subsection may request enrollment. Out-of-state providers listed in this subsection are subject to conditions in WAC 388-502-0120.

     (a) Professionals:

     (i) Advanced registered nurse practitioners;

     (ii) Anesthesiologists;

     (iii) Audiologists;

     (iv) Chiropractors;

     (v) Dentists;

     (vi) Dental hygienists;

     (vii) Denturists;

     (viii) Dietitians or nutritionists;

     (xiv) Maternity case managers;

     (x) Midwives;

     (xi) Occupational therapists;

     (xii) Ophthalmologists;

     (xiii) Opticians;

     (xiv) Optometrists;

     (xv) Orthodontists;

     (xvi) Osteopathic physicians;

     (xvii) Podiatric physicians;

     (xviii) Pharmacists

     (xix) Physicians;

     (xx) Physical therapists;

     (xxi) Psychiatrists;

     (xxii) Psychologists;

     (xxiii) Registered nurse delegators;

     (xxiv) Registered nurse first assistants;

     (xxv) Respiratory therapists;

     (xxvi) Speech/language pathologists;

     (xvii) Radiologists; and

     (xviii) Radiology technicians (technical only);

     (b) Agencies, centers and facilities:

     (i) Adult day health centers;

     (ii) Ambulance services (ground and air);

     (iii) Ambulatory surgery centers (Medicare-certified);

     (iv) Birthing centers (licensed by the department of health);

     (v) Blood banks;

     (vi) Chemical dependency treatment facilities certified by the department of social and health services (DSHS) division of alcohol and substance abuse (DASA), and contracted through either:

     (A) A county under chapter 388-810 WAC; or

     (B) DASA to provide chemical dependency treatment services;

     (vii) Centers for the detoxification of acute alcohol or other drug intoxication conditions (certified by DASA);

     (viii) Community AIDS services alternative agencies;

     (ix) Community mental health centers;

     (x) Early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment (EPSDT) clinics;

     (xi) Family planning clinics;

     (xii) Federally qualified health care centers (designated by the Federal Health Care Financing Administration);

     (xiii) Genetic counseling agencies;

     (xiv) Health departments;

     (xv) HIV/AIDS case management;

     (xvi) Home health agencies;

     (xvii) Hospice agencies;

     (xviii) Hospitals;

     (xix) Indian Health Service;

     (xx) Tribal or urban Indian clinics;

     (xxi) Inpatient psychiatric facilities;

     (xxii) Intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICF-MR);

     (xxiii) Kidney centers;

     (xxiv) Laboratories (CLIA certified);

     (xxv) Maternity support services agencies;

     (xxvi) Neuromuscular and neurodevelopmental centers;

     (xxvii) Nursing facilities (approved by DSHS Aging and Adult Services);

     (xxviii) Pharmacies;

     (xxix) Private duty nursing agencies;

     (xxx) Rural health clinics (Medicare-certified);

     (xxxi) Tribal mental health services (contracted through the DSHS mental health division); and

     (xxxii) Washington state school districts and educational service districts.

     (c) Suppliers of:

     (i) Durable and nondurable medical equipment and supplies;

     (ii) Infusion therapy equipment and supplies;

     (iii) Prosthetics/orthotics;

     (iv) Hearing aids; and

     (v) Oxygen equipment and supplies;

     (d) Contractors of:

     (i) Transportation brokers;

     (ii) Interpreter services agencies; and

     (iii) Eyeglass and contact lens providers.

     (4) Nothing in this chapter precludes the department from entering into other forms of written agreements to provide services to eligible clients.

     (5) The department does not enroll licensed or unlicensed practitioners who are not specifically addressed in subsection (3) of this section, including, but not limited to:

     (a) Acupuncturists;

     (b) Counselors;

     (c) Sanipractors;

     (d) Naturopaths;

     (e) Homeopaths;

     (f) Herbalists;

     (g) Massage therapists;

     (h) Social workers; or

     (i) Christian Science practitioners or theological healers.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.500, and 74.09.530. 01-07-076, § 388-502-0010, filed 3/20/01, effective 4/20/01; 00-15-050, § 388-502-0010, filed 7/17/00, effective 8/17/00.]

     Reviser's note: The typographical errors in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

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