Current through September 24, 2024
A. The Division of
Medicaid defines "public records" as all books, records, papers, accounts,
letters, maps, photographs, films, cards, tapes, recordings or reproductions
thereof, and any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or
characteristics, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed or
retained for use in the conduct, transaction or performance of any business,
transaction, work, duty or function of the Division of Medicaid or required to
be maintained by the Division of Medicaid.
B. The Division of Medicaid allows any person
the right to inspect, copy, mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of
any public record of the Division of Medicaid, unless the record is exempt from
public inspection as specified by federal and/or state law, during the Division
of Medicaid's normal business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00
p.m., excluding legal holidays.
1. Public
records must be inspected or reproduced at the central or regional office(s) of
the Division of Medicaid, depending on the type of public records
requested.
2. The Division of
Medicaid may have a staff member observe the inspection or reproduction of
public records by the requestor.
3.
The Division of Medicaid will provide reasonable space for the inspection
and/or reproduction of public records.
4. Requested public records and/or
information will be provided by a Division of Medicaid staff member.
5. Public records subject to inspection
and/or reproduction may not be destroyed, altered, marked upon, or disassembled
in any manner by the requestor.
6.
The time, place and manner of inspection and/or reproduction of public records
cannot interfere with other essential duties or unreasonably disrupt operations
of the Division of Medicaid.
7.
The time, place and manner of inspection and/or reproduction of public records
must be mutually agreed upon by the Division of Medicaid and the
requestor.
C. The
requestor must claim or review the assembled records within thirty (30) days of
the Division of Medicaid's notification to him or her that the records are
available for inspection or reproduction.
1.
The Division of Medicaid will notify the requestor in writing of this
requirement and inform the requestor that he or she should contact the Division
of Medicaid to make arrangements to claim or review the records.
2. If the requestor or a representative of
the requestor fails to claim or review the records within the thirty (30) day
period or make other arrangements, the Division of Medicaid may close the
request and refile the assembled records.
D. Any person requesting to inspect, copy,
mechanically reproduce or obtain a reproduction of public records of the
Division of Medicaid must make the request in writing by email, fax or letter
addressed to the Division of Medicaid's public records officer and must include
the following information:
1. Name of
requestor,
2. Address of
requestor,
3. Other requestor
contact information, including telephone number and an email address,
4. Identification of the requested
public records, by individual item or by category with reasonable
particularity, so that the public records officer or designee can locate the
public records, and
5. Date of
request.
E. Within seven
(7) business days of receipt of the request, the public records officer will:
1. Make the public records available for
inspection and/or reproduction,
2.
Deliver requested copies to the requestor if terms of payment are agreed
upon,
3. Request clarification from
the requestor via telephone, letter or email, or
4. Deny the request and give the specific
exemption or other authority and/or provide a brief explanation.
F. If the Division of Medicaid
cannot produce the requested public records within seven (7) business days of
the request, the public records officer will:
1. Provide the requestor with notification
specifying the reason why the requested public records cannot be produced
within seven (7) business days, and
2. Obtain a mutually agreed upon delivery
date for the public records to be released.
G. The Division of Medicaid may charge for
the processing, retrieval/searching, reviewing and duplicating of information
and/or public records not readily available, unless the information and/or
public records are requested by a federal agency, institution of higher
learning, or a Medicaid beneficiary, as follows:
1. The actual cost of searching for,
reviewing and redacting exempt information from public records, which is based
on the hourly rate of compensation for the lowest paid agency employee
qualified to perform the tasks multiplied by the actual time to complete the
task according to the Division of Medicaid's fee schedule,
2. The cost of any associated computer run
time or database processing time related to the retrieval of data according to
the Division of Medicaid's fee schedule,
3. The cost of electronic copies of public
records being placed on a data storage device. There is no charge for e-mailing
electronic public records to a requestor, unless another cost applies such as a
scanning fee or system costs according to the Division of Medicaid's fee
schedule,
4. Fifty Cents ($0.50)
per page for standard black and white and/or color copies of any public record
made on a Division of Medicaid copier, and
5. The actual cost of mailing, including the
cost of the shipping container.
H. The Division of Medicaid requires payment,
by check or money order, to the Division of Medicaid in the amount of the
estimated cost of processing or retrieval of public records and/or information
prior to the completion of the request.
Miss. Code Ann.
§§
25-61-1,
et seq., 43-13-121.
