HB 1565-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2016 SESSION
\t16-2105
\t01/05
HOUSE BILL\t1565-FN
AN ACT\trelative to transportation companies under the Medicaid managed care program.
SPONSORS:\tRep. Martel, Hills. 44; Rep. Byron, Hills. 20; Rep. Fields, Belk. 4; Rep. V. Sullivan, Hills. 16
COMMITTEE:\tHealth, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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ANALYSIS
\tThis bill requires the commissioner of the department of health and human services to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services seeking to exclude private transportation companies operating in New Hampshire providing transportation services for Medicaid patients from the Medicaid managed care program.
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Explanation:\tMatter added to current law appears in bold italics.
\t\tMatter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
\t\tMatter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
\t16-2105
\t01/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Sixteen
AN ACT\trelative to transportation companies under the Medicaid managed care program.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
\t1 New Paragraph; Medicaid Managed Care Program; Transportation Services. Amend RSA 126-A:5 by inserting after paragraph XXIX the following new paragraph:
\t\tXXX. The commissioner shall submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services which would not require private companies which operate in New Hampshire providing transportation services for Medicaid patients to join the Medicaid managed care program. The commissioner shall also request to allow Medicaid patients to continue to opt out from joining the Medicaid managed care program for purposes of transportation services.
\t2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t16-2105
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t11/30/15
HB 1565-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT\trelative to transportation companies under the Medicaid managed care program.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill, as introduced, may increase state expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2017 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on county and local expenditures, or on state, county, and local revenue.
METHODOLOGY:
The Department of Health and Human Services states this bill requires it to submit a state plan amendment to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to remove the requirement that private companies operating in New Hampshire join the Medicaid managed care program in order to provide services to Medicaid recipients. The Department states that, because federal law prohibits payments to any providers other than managed care organizations (MCO) for services rendered under a managed care contract, the bill would effectively require the Department to completely carve out transportation services from its contracts with MCOs and return to directly managing such services for all Medicaid recipients. (Currently, the Department directly manages transportation services for fee-for-service recipients only.) The Department states that returning to direct management of transportation services for managed care clients may significantly increase state expenditures. By way of illustration, the Department notes that from January 2014 to June 2015, MCOs processed a total of 454,044 one-way requests for non-emergency medical transportation (NEMT). By comparison, between August 2014 and August 2015, the Department processed 256 NEMT reimbursement claims and 26,959 wheelchair van claims for fee-for-service clients. The Department states that, in order to directly manage transportation services as required by the bill, it will need to enter into a contract with a transportation broker, as well as hire and train additional Department staff. The Department is unable to determine the extent of these costs.