Committee approves rule aligning Medicaid provider eligibility with federal change

The Senate Committee on Administrative Rules voted to approve Senate Joint Resolution 50, adopting permanent rules in Title 317.3 to align Oklahoma Medicaid policy with a recent federal change.

Melissa Miller, the State Medicaid Director with the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, told the committee the rule expands eligible individual provider types at federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics beyond licensed clinical social workers to include licensed professional counselors, LBHPs and licensed alcohol and drug counselors. "This rule just aligns our policy with that federal change," Miller said.

Committee members questioned the fiscal-impact analysis flagged by the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT). Miller said the agency and LOFT used different methodologies and that the likely industry impact is under $1 million per year, offering a rough range of about $100,000 to $800,000 annually.

After discussion, the clerk recorded 9 ayes and 0 nays and the chair declared SJR 50 passed. The resolution places the federal alignment into permanent administrative code; no additional follow-up task was recorded during the meeting.