BEFORE THE Department of Public

health and human services of the

STATE OF MONTANA

 

In the matter of the repeal of ARM 37.34.301, 37.34.302, 37.34.306, 37.34.307, 37.34.308, 37.34.309, 37.34.310, 37.34.311, 37.34.318, 37.34.319, 37.34.325, 37.34.329, 37.34.330, and 37.34.335, pertaining to placement determinations

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NOTICE OF REPEAL

 

          TO: All Concerned Persons

 

1. On September 5, 2013, the Department of Public Health and Human Services published MAR Notice No. 37-644 pertaining to the public hearing on the proposed repeal of the above-stated rules at page 1570 of the 2013 Montana Administrative Register, Issue Number 17.

 

2. The department has repealed the above-stated rules as proposed.

 

3. The department has thoroughly considered the comments and testimony received. A summary of the comments received and the department's responses are as follows:

 

COMMENT #1: One commenter stated that this rulemaking process is contrary to the Montana Administrative Procedure Act (MAPA) in that the department is proposing this change in response to direction from the federal government without affording interested parties the opportunity to comment to a rulemaking process.  The commenter also expressed concern that, once this set of rules was repealed, there would be no governing rules for the screening process and that the retroactive implementation potentially has a negative impact on those persons on the waiting list for services who may have been screened into services under the previous screening process.

 

RESPONSE #1: The department is required to implement amendments to the waivers as directed by the federal government in order to maintain federal funding. The department received the notice from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) that dictated the change to the screening policy effective July 1, 2013 on June 24, 2013.  Due to the length of the MAPA process it was not possible to allow for the rulemaking process prior to implementation of this federal requirement. However, in order to better align this rule repeal with the adoption of the new screening rule in MAR Notice No. 37-652, the department chose to hold the adoption of this notice in order to coincide with the adoption of MAR Notice No. 37-652, which incorporates the new screening requirements. By holding the adoption of this rule, it afforded the opportunity for interested parties to make comment to the proposed screening rule. The department must follow the federal mandate during the timeframe from CMS waiver renewal (July 1, 2013) to the adoption of MAR Notice No. 37-652.

 

 

 

/s/ Cary B. Lund                                           /s/ Richard H. Opper                                   

Cary B. Lund                                               Richard H. Opper, Director

Rule Reviewer                                              Public Health and Human Services

 

           

Certified to the Secretary of State January 21, 2014.