PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Aging and Disability Services Administration)
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Chapter 388-96 WAC, Nursing facility medicaid payment system.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: Chapter 564, Laws of 2009, and chapter 74.46 RCW.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish:
| • | WAC 388-96-758 and 388-96-759, to incorporate changes made in the low-wage worker add-on by section 206(12), chapter 564, Laws of 2009; |
| • | WAC 388-96-904, to clarify applying for an adjudicative proceeding; |
| • | WAC 388-96-718, to allow e-mail notices; |
| • | WAC 388-96-781, to add expanded community services (ECS), extraordinary medical placement (EMP), and vent-trach (VT) as categories; |
| • | WAC 388-96-366 through 388-96-384, that authorizations from clients' trust funds must be obtained for each disbursement; |
| • | WAC 388-96-572, to address the treatment of no salvage value assets; |
| • | WAC 388-96-366(3), to increase amount of a resident's funds that a NH must deposit from $50 to $100; |
| • | WAC 388-96-580, to clarify allowable leased office equipment; |
| • | WAC 388-96-542, to address the "may" in the definition of "home and central office costs": "...The department may exclude from this definition costs that are nonduplicative, documented, ordinary, necessary, and related to the provision of care services to authorized patients." found in RCW 74.46.020; and |
| • | WAC 388-96-766, to codify the use of e-mail notices as being legally sufficient. Also, requiring nursing facilities to maintain a current e-mail address with the department. |
| • | Rules to govern accounts receivable audits addressing requirements of the NH, overpayments, and interest; |
| • | Adopt a definition of "direct care supplies" in WAC 388-96-010; |
| • | Adopt a new section about recalculating the direct care rate when a nursing home unbanks beds; addressing what days to use (RCW 74.46.431(13)); and |
| • | Amend sections to clarify when minimum occupancy will be used in setting the component rates. |
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: None.
Process for Developing New Rule: The aging and disability services administration 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 Patricia Hague, Aging and Disability Services Administration, P.O. Box 45600, Mailstop 45600, Olympia, WA 98504-5600, phone (360) 725-2447, fax (360) 725-2641, e-mail haguepe@dshs.wa.gov.
August 6, 2009
Don Goldsby, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit