Submittal of rules to legislative council clearinghouse
Please check the Bulletin of Proceedings - Administrative Rules for further information on a particular rule.
Athletic Trainers Affiliated Credentialing Board
Rule Submittal Date
On December 19, 2002, the Athletic Trainers Affiliated Credentialing Board submitted a proposed rule to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
The proposed rule-making order relates to consulting physicians.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
A public hearing is required and will be held on February 10, 2003 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 179A, 1400 East Washington Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin, 53702.
Contact Person
Pamela Haack, Paralegal
Office of Administrative Rules
(608) 266-0495
Health and Family Services
Rule Submittal Date
On December 23, 2002, the Department of Health and Family Services submitted a proposed rule to the Wisconsin Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
Statutory Authority: Section
49.688, Stats.
This chapter of rules, HFS 109, is intended to replace emergency rules currently in effect that implement SeniorCare, a new prescription drug assistance program for Wisconsin residents who are 65 years of age or older and who meet the program's eligibility criteria.
The high cost of prescription drugs in Wisconsin and nationwide are especially burdensome on the elderly, many of whom live on a fixed income. Through
2001 Act 16, Wisconsin has addressed the problem those increasingly high costs pose to the elderly by creating section
49.688 of the statutes. Section
49.688 directs the Department to develop and administer the program of prescription drug benefits for the elderly that has come to be known as "SeniorCare." The statute also directs the Department to develop administrative rules for implementing SeniorCare, which the Department has done by creating a new chapter of administrative rules, HFS 109. The rules address a variety of issues associated with operating the program in accordance with section
49.688, Stats., including specifying:
- what prescription drugs are covered;
- who is eligible for benefits and services;
- how the Department determines household income for the program's eligibility determination;
- how the Department monitors compliance by pharmacists and pharmacies; and
- mechanisms for preventing fraud and abuse.
The Department drafted these rules to parallel the prescription drug provisions of the existing Medicaid rules in chapters HFS 101 to 108. The Department developed the program's administrative elements in consultation with an advisory committee composed of representatives of physicians, counties, seniors and pharmacies.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
Public hearings under ss.
227.16,
227.17 and
227.18, Stats.; approval of rules in final draft form by the DHFS Secretary; and legislative standing committee review under s.
227.19, Stats.
Contacts
Al Matano, 267-6848
James Vavra, 261-7838
Health and Family Services
Rule Submittal Date
On December 27, 2002, the Department of Health and Family Services submitted a proposed rule to the Wisconsin Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
2001 Wisconsin Act 109 amended ss.
146.50 (6) (a) 2.,
(b) 2. and
(8) (b) 3. by adding the requirement that as of January 1, 2003, to receive an initial or renewed EMS license or first responder certification, the applicant must have received training in response to acts of terrorism. Section
146.50 (6) (b) 2. of the statutes specifically directs the Department, in conjunction with the technical college system board, to promulgate rules specifying training, education, or examination requirements for training in response to acts of terrorism. The training must be completed by all persons desiring to receive an initial or renewed license or certification after January 1, 2003. To enforce and administer this statutory requirement, the Department must revise the administrative rules associated with the licensing of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) - Basic and Emts- Basic IV (found in ch.
HFS 110), EMTs- Intermediate (found in ch.
HFS 111), EMTs - Paramedic (found in ch.
HFS 112) and First Responders (found in ch.
HFS 113.) These rules will replace identical emergency rules that will take effect on December 31, 2002.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
Public hearings under ss.
227.16,
227.17 and
227.18, Stats.; approval of rules in final draft form by the DHFS Secretary; and legislative standing committee review under s.
227.19, Stats.
Contact Person
Jon Morgan 266-9781
Health and Family Services
Rule Submittal Date
On January 2, 2003, the Department of Health and Family Services submitted a proposed rule to the Wisconsin Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
Under Wisconsin statute at ss.
196.218 and
46.297, Stats., and pursuant administrative rules under s.
PSC 160.071 and Ch.
HFS 78, respectively, Wisconsin operates two programs persons with hearing loss may use to obtain financial assistance for purchasing telecommunications equipment. The Public Service Commission (PSC) administers one program, known as the Telecommunications Equipment Purchase Program (TEPP) and the Department of Health and Family Services administers the other, known as the Telecommunication Assistance Program (TAP.) Both programs receive periodic legislative appropriations from which the financial assistance is provided to approved applicants. The PSC's TEPP program's funding is substantially larger than that available for the Department's TAP program. Moreover, the PSC's TEPP program requires applicants to pay $100 towards the purchase of telecommunications equipment. To both conserve the limited TAP program funds and to better integrate the TAP program with the PSC TEPP program, with certain exceptions, the Department proposes reducing the existing assistance limit of $600 per voucher to a maximum of $100 per voucher, to be used in meeting the copayment requirement of the TEPP program. By so doing, the TAP program's more limited resources may be conserved, thereby extending the TAP program benefits to a greater number of potential recipients. To also make ch.
HFS 78 more consistent with s.
PSC 160.071, the Department proposes reducing the waiting period for subsequent applications from four years to three.
The current rules also limit TAP program financial assistance to one person per household. That constraint has prevented other household members with otherwise qualifying needs from receiving TAP program assistance. Moreover, the current household limitation is narrower than that used by PSC for the TEPP program. To better unify the eligibility criteria between the two programs, the Department proposes to modify the rule to eliminate the one person per household constraint and to expand the eligibility for financial assistance by loosening the definition of who shares a household with a deaf or severely hearing impaired person. The Department proposes to eliminate financial assistance for the installation of telecommunications equipment.. Finally, the Department also proposes to update the terminology used to refer to deaf and severely hearing impaired persons and to recognize the ability of other persons to qualify someone for TAP assistance.
Agency Procedure for Promulgation
Public hearings under ss.
227.16,
227.17 and
227.18, Stats.; approval of rules in final draft form by the DHFS Secretary; and legislative standing committee review under s.
227.19, Stats.
Contact Person
Alice Sykora, 266-3168
Pharmacy Examining Board
Rule Submittal Date
On December 13, 2002, the Pharmacy Examining Board submitted a proposed rule to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse.
Analysis
