According to the release, each of these rules had been subject to Congressional moratoria set to expire on July 1, 2009. Sec. Sebelius said in the release that by rescinding the regulations outpatient hospital and clinic services could continue to be covered in “the most efficient manner.”
The release said that CMS and HHS have done the following as of June 29:
- “Rescinding a rule, published Nov. 7, 2008, that would have limited the outpatient hospital and clinic service benefit for Medicaid beneficiaries to the scope of services recognized as an outpatient hospital service under Medicare. This rule was rescinded because CMS became aware that coverage beyond that scope could not be easily moved to other benefit categories, resulting in great impact than previously anticipated.”
- “Rescinding a final rule, published Dec. 28, 2007, that would have eliminated reimbursement for school-based administrative costs and costs of transportation to and from schools. The rescission reflects concern that the rule could limit the Medicaid administrative outreach activities of schools, and that the overall budgetary impact on schools could potentially impact their ability to offer Medicaid services to students.”
- “Rescinding provisions of an interim final rule published Dec. 4, 2007, which would have restricted beneficiary access to case management services. These provisions appeared to, in practice, restrict beneficiary access to needed covered case management services and limit state flexibility in determining efficient and effective delivery systems for case management services.”
- “Delaying until June 30, 2010, the enforcement of portions of a regulation that clarified limitations on healthcare-related tax programs so that CMS could determine whether states need additional clarification or guidance. CMS may also further review the potential impact of the regulation and give additional consideration to alternative approaches.”
Read the HHS release about its decision to rescind three Medicaid regulations.
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