Transportation Services For Medicaid Waiver Recipients

Beginning July 1, 2024, the bill authorizes a transportation network company to provide nonmedical transportation services to persons enrolled in certain medicaid waiver programs, including home- and community-based services for the elderly, blind, and disabled; home- and community-based services for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities; home- and community-based services for persons with major mental health disorders; home- and community-based services for persons with brain injury; and complementary and alternative medicine for a person with a spinal cord injury.

No later than January 2024, the bill requires the department of health care policy and financing (state department) to submit a report to specified committees of the general assembly identifying:

• A reimbursement system with a goal to incentivize and increase transportation provider participation;
• How the state department will ensure compliance with applicable federal laws and waiver requirements;
• A system of common reporting to ensure a recipient does not exceed the medicaid benefit in a multi-provider scenario; and
• Best practices based on what other states have done to allow transportation network companies (TNC) to provide nonmedical transportation services for individuals receiving services.

Upon completion of the report, the bill requires the state department to analyze and review each operational TNC and no later than July 1, 2024, verify each TNC's viability to ensure the health, safety, welfare, cost effectiveness, and capability in expanding nonmedical transportation services for individuals receiving services under the home- and community-based services for the elderly, blind, and disabled waiver, the home- and community-based services for persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities waiver, the home- and community-based services for persons with major mental health disorders waiver, the home- and community-based services for persons with brain injury waiver, or the complementary and alternative medicine for a person with a spinal cord injury waiver. The bill appropriates $110,811 to the department of health care policy and financing, of which $88,411 is from the general fund, $16,726 is from the healthcare affordability and sustainability fee cash fund, and $5,674 is from the children's basic health plan trust.

(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.)