The following information was obtained from the July 8 issue of the Texas Register:
Public Notice and Hearing
DADS will hold a public hearing in conjunction with a DADS Council meeting on July 20, 2011, at 8:30 a.m., which will take place in the Public Hearing Room of the John H. Winters Building, 701 W. 51st Street, Austin. DADS will receive public comment on several proposed amendments. See the Texas Register for details.
HHSC intends to submit an amendment to the Texas State Plan for Medical Assistance that would change the delivery of service model from a monthly unit of service to a fifteen-minute unit of service methodology for targeted case management provided to infants and toddlers with developmental delays.
HHSC intends to submit an amendment that would modify the current reimbursement methodology for specialized skills training services provided to infants and toddlers with developmental delays to allow for the provision of specialized skills training services in a group setting.
Finally, HHSC intends to submit amendments that would enable public EPSDT dental providers, including mobile dental units and clinics, to receive additional federal funding through a supplemental payment program for Medicaid dental services for children.
For details about each notice, see the Texas Register.
Proposed Rules
HHSC proposes to repeal §355.8052, Medicaid Inpatient Hospital Reimbursement and replace it with new §355.8052, Medicaid Inpatient Hospital Reimbursement, in Chapter 355, Reimbursement Rates, which describes the prospective payment system applicable to Medicaid inpatient hospital payments. An excerpt:
The proposed methodology establishes a statewide base standard dollar amount (SDA) that is intended to address the effects of the current hospital-specific rate methodology, which can result in different payments to similarly situated hospitals for the same or similar services. Teaching hospitals and trauma-designated hospitals are eligible for increases to the statewide base SDA, in recognition of the high-cost functions of those groups of providers. Increases to the statewide base SDA are also available based on wage differences related to the geographic area in which each prospectively-paid inpatient hospital is located.
