AGENCY FOR HEALTH CARE ADMINISTRATION
MedicaidRULE NO: RULE TITLE
59G-4.320: Therapy ServicesNOTICE OF CHANGE
Notice is hereby given that the following changes have been made to the proposed rule in accordance with subparagraph 120.54(3)(d)1., F.S., published in Vol. 34, No. 25, June 20, 2008 issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly.
This is the second Notice of Change. The first Notice of Change was published in Vol. 34, No. 35, August 29, 2008, issue of the Florida Administrative Weekly. These changes are in response to written material received before and on the date of the final public hearing and comments made at the public hearing.
The rule incorporates by reference the Florida Medicaid Therapy Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, July 2008. The following revisions were made to the handbook.
Page 1-2, Purpose and Definitions, Physical Therapy, Provider Qualifications and Enrollment. We changed the physical therapy definition back to the definition that is in the current Medicaid Therapy Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, October 2003. The definition reads, “Physical therapy is a specifically prescribed program to develop, improve or restore neuro-muscular or sensory-motor function, relieve pain, or control postural deviations to attain maximum performance. Physical therapy services include evaluation and treatment of range-of-motion, muscle strength, functional abilities and the use of adaptive and therapeutic equipment. Examples are rehabilitation through exercise, massage, the use of equipment and habilitation through therapeutic activities.”
Previous page 1-3, now page 1-2, Purpose and Definitions, Occupational Therapy. We changed the occupational therapy definition back to the definition that is in the current Medicaid Therapy Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, October 2003. The definition reads, “Occupational therapy is the provision of services that addresses the developmental or functional needs of a child related to the performance of self-help skills; adaptive behavior; and sensory, motor and postural development. Occupational therapy services include evaluation and treatment to prevent or correct physical and emotional deficits or to minimize the disabling effect of these deficits. Examples are perceptual motor activities, exercises to enhance functional performance, kinetic movement activities, guidance in the use of adaptive equipment and other techniques related to improving motor development.”
Previous page 1-3, now page 1-2, Purpose and Definitions, Speech-Language Pathology. We changed the occupational therapy definition back to the definition that is in the current Medicaid Therapy Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, October 2003. The definition reads, “Speech-language pathology services involve the evaluation and treatment of speech-language disorders. Services include the evaluation and treatment of disorders of verbal and written language, articulation, voice, fluency, phonology, mastication, deglutition, cognition, communication (including the pragmatics of verbal communication), auditory processing, visual processing, memory, comprehension and interactive communication as well as the use of instrumentation, techniques, and strategies to remediate and enhance the recipient’s communication needs, when appropriate. Services also include the evaluation and treatment of oral pharyngeal and laryngeal sensorimotor competencies. Examples are techniques and instrumentation to evaluate the recipient’s condition, remedial procedures to maximize the recipient’s oral motor functions and communication via augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems.”
Previous page 1-4, now page 1-3, Purpose and Definitions, Respiratory Therapy. We changed the occupational therapy definition back to the definition that is in the current Medicaid Therapy Services Coverage and Limitations Handbook, October 2003. The definition reads, “Respiratory therapy is treatment of conditions that interfere with respiratory functions or other deficiencies of the cardiopulmonary system. Respiratory therapy services include evaluation and treatment related to pulmonary dysfunction. Examples are ventilatory support; therapeutic and diagnostic use of medical gases; respiratory rehabilitation; management of life support systems and bronchopulmonary drainage; breathing exercises and chest physiotherapy.”
Page 2-1, Requirements to Receive Services, Introduction. We added the following sentence, “Florida Medicaid covers only the therapy services that are listed on the Procedure Codes and Maximum Fee Schedule in Appendix A.”
In addition, the following technical changes were made:
We corrected the page numbers on the Table of Contents and Page 1-1. Purpose and Definitions begins on page 1-1, Prepaid Therapies Program begins on page 1-3, Provider Qualifications begins on page 1-4, and Provider Responsibilities begins on page 1-8.
