Medicaid program; freedom of choice; waivers of and exceptions to state plan requirements--HCFA. Final rule.

These final rules clarify and amend regulations published on October 1, 1981, that implement section 2175 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981 (Pub. L. 97-35). Those regulations revised several of the requirements regarding a Medicaid beneficiary's right to choose among participating providers of covered items or services. Based on the comments received on those regulations, we are making changes that provide further direction to States, beneficiaries and providers with regard to freedom of choice requirements while at the same time maintaining State flexibility in administering their Medicaid programs. We are also amending the October 1, 1981 regulations to implement section 137 of the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (Pub. L. 97-248). That section makes several technical changes to section 2175 of Pub. L. 97-35 with respect to a Medicaid beneficiary's right to choose among participating providers of covered items or services.