HB0064

Authorizes the Department of Health to apply for enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rates for maternal services providers in rural and frontier areas of Wyoming.

• Directs the Department of Health to apply to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for authorization to reimburse eligible maternal services providers at enhanced rates in rural and frontier areas. (Section 1(a))
• Defines 'eligible provider' as a Medicaid-enrolled health care provider with labor and delivery privileges, including obstetrician gynecologists, family physicians providing obstetrical services, midwives, general surgeons providing cesarean backup, or other providers determined by department rule. (Section 1(a)(i))
• Authorizes the Department of Health to determine which areas qualify as rural and frontier areas for purposes of enhanced reimbursement. (Section 1(a)(ii))
• Establishes three purposes for the enhanced reimbursement: increasing access to prenatal, intrapartum, and postpartum care; reducing maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality; and preserving obstetric provider capacity in rural Wyoming. (Section 1(b))
• Requires the Department of Health to report to the Joint Appropriations Committee and Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Interim Committee by October 31, 2027 on additional costs incurred and recommendations for modifications to the reimbursement program. (Section 1(c))
• Appropriates one million dollars from the general fund and one million dollars from federal funds to the Department of Health for enhanced Medicaid reimbursement for the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, with unexpended funds reverting on June 30, 2028. (Section 2)
• Requires the Department of Health to promulgate rules necessary to implement the act. (Section 3)
• Makes the act effective upon approval of the state plan amendment by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, except that the application requirement and effective date provision become effective immediately upon bill enactment. (Section 4(a), Section 4(b))