Alaska would swap dated national manuals for an undated state guidebook

Alaska hospitals would take their data-reporting requirements from a state guidebook instead of two national manuals, under changes the Department of Health proposed Sept. 11. The guidebook carries no edition date. Both manuals it would replace do.

The data elements a facility has to report would come from the state's Health Facilities Data Reporting Program Guidelines rather than the 2018 national billing specifications manual. So would the discharge status codes that determine how Medicaid prorates inpatient payments when a patient transfers, which now come from the American Hospital Association's 2024 manual.

The department's program collects inpatient and outpatient discharge data from qualifying facilities every quarter to build the state's inpatient and outpatient databases. Facilities that fail to report can be referred to the state's licensing and certification office for possible fines or penalties.

Comments are due by 5 pm Nov. 4, and a telephone hearing is set for Oct. 27.