Changes To Medicaid For Wheelchair Repairs

The bill prohibits the department of health care policy and financing (state department) from requiring prior authorization for any repair of complex rehabilitation technology (CRT).

No later than October 1, 2023, the bill requires the medical services board to promulgate rules establishing repair metrics for all CRT suppliers and CRT professionals. Prior to promulgating rules, the bill requires the state department to engage in a stakeholder process. Beginning January 2024, the bill requires the state department to report on the metrics and compliance with the metrics.

The bill authorizes the state department to assess a fine for violations of repair metric rules on a supplier Beginning 3 years after the date the repair metric rules are established, the bill authorizes the state department to engage in a stakeholder process to determine the need for additional accountability of a qualified CRT supplier through penalties, audits, or similar tools, for violations of the metric rules .

Beginning December 1, 2024, the bill requires the state department to reimburse labor costs at a rate that is 25% higher for clients residing in rural areas than urban areas.

The bill appropriates $112,668 from the general fund to department of health care policy and financing to implement the bill.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)