Current through November 28, 2024
(a) The department
will pay for transportation services that
(1)
are provided in accordance with the department's
Transportation
Services Conditions of Participation, adopted by reference in
7
AAC 160.900;
(2) are approved under
7
AAC 130.217 and
7
AAC 130.218 as part of the recipient's support
plan;
(3) receive prior
authorization; and
(4) are provided
in a vehicle that is owned or commercially leased by a home and community-based
waiver services provider agency, unless otherwise approved under (b) of this
section; the department will not certify, as a provider of services under
7
AAC 130.220(a)(l)(I), an agency that
uses only employee- or volunteer-owned vehicles for that
service.
(b)
Notwithstanding (a)(4) of this section, the department will approve
transportation services in an employee- or volunteer-owned vehicle if the
department determines that no other transportation options, including natural
supports, are available for a recipient; a home and community-based waiver
services provider agency that authorizes an employee or volunteer to transport
a recipient in an employee- or volunteer-owned vehicle must ensure and document
that
(1) the vehicle is safe and suitable for
the transportation needs of the recipient;
(2) the driver is capable of transporting the
recipient in a safe manner; and
(3)
either the agency or the driver has automotive liability insurance for the
employee- or volunteer-owned vehicle that includes coverage, in the event of an
accident, for any recipient.
(c) The department will consider services to
be transportation services under this section if the services enable a
recipient and, if necessary, an escort that receives prior authorization under
(a)(3) of this section, to travel to and return from locations where
(1) home and community-based waiver services
are provided; or
(2) other services
and resources are available.
(d) The department will pay for trip segments
that
(1) transport a recipient from one
location to another location, except that incidental stops do not constitute a
location where a trip segment begins or ends; and
(2) are documented in a travel log that
includes
(A) the name of the recipient and
any escort;
(B) the date the
service is provided;
(C) the time
at the beginning and end of each trip segment;
(D) the pick-up point and drop-off location
for each trip segment; and
(E) if
the vehicle operator waits for the recipient, the time at the beginning and end
of that waiting period.
(e) The department will not pay under this
section for
(1) medical transportation
services that are authorized under
7
AAC 120.400-
7
AAC 120.490;
(2) transportation under
7
AAC 130.260 or
7
AAC 130.265;
(3) transportation to destinations that are
over 20 miles from the recipient's residence, unless approved by the department
in the recipient's support plan;
(4) transportation to run errands for a
recipient without the recipient's presence in the vehicle; or
(5) transportation that involves stops during
which time the vehicle operator waits for a recipient longer than 15 minutes,
except at the rate established under
7
AAC 145.520 for trip segments less than 20
miles.
(f) In this
section,
(1) "escort" means an individual
that
(A) accompanies a recipient on travel
described in (c) and (d) of this section in order to meet the recipient's
mobility needs; and
(B) is not
another recipient, the driver of the vehicle, or another individual employed by
the provider, unless that individual is providing another home and
community-based waiver service or personal care services under
7
AAC 125.010 -
7
AAC 125.199 at the time that the individual acts as an
escort;
(2) "incidental
stop" means an interval of 15 minutes or less during which the recipient may or
may not leave the vehicle and the vehicle operator waits for the recipient or
disembarks to run an errand for that recipient while the recipient remains in
the vehicle;
(3) "trip segment"
means travel to a location where the recipient disembarks for an approved
purpose, and the vehicle operator
(A) leaves
the recipient at that location for pickup at a later time by that or another
vehicle operator; or
(B) remains at
that location because the distance involved in travel to that location makes it
unfeasible for that or another vehicle operator to pick up the recipient at a
later time.
Authority:AS
47.05.010
AS 47.07.030
AS
47.07.040
