Payment is made to eligible providers for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) services on behalf of eligible individuals under the age of 21.

• (1) The EPSDT program is a comprehensive child-health program, designed to ensure the availability of, and access to, required health care resources and help parents and guardians of Medicaid-eligible children use these resources.  An effective EPSDT program assures that health problems are diagnosed and treated early before they become more complex and their treatment more costly.  The physician plays a significant role in educating parents and guardians about all services available through the EPSDT program.  The receipt of an identified EPSDT screening makes the Medicaid child eligible for all necessary follow-up care that is within the scope of the Medicaid program.  Federal regulations require that diagnosis and treatment be provided for conditions identified during a screening whether or not they are covered under the Authority's current program.  Such services must be allowable under federal regulations and must be necessary to ameliorate or correct defects and physical or behavioral health illnesses or conditions and will require prior authorization.
• (2) Federal regulations also require that the State set standards and protocols for each component of EPSDT services. The standards must provide for services at intervals which meet reasonable standards of medical and dental practice.  The standards must also provide for EPSDT services at other intervals as medically necessary to determine the existence of certain physical or behavioral health illnesses or conditions.
• (3) Medicaid providers who perform EPSDT screenings must assure that the screenings they provide meet the minimum standards established by the OHCA and outlined at OAC 317:30-3-65.1 in order to be reimbursed at the level established for EPSDT services.
• (4) An EPSDT screening is considered a comprehensive examination.  A provider billing the Medicaid program for an EPSDT screen may not bill any other Evaluation and Management Current Procedure Terminology (CPT) code for that patient on that same day.  It is expected that the screening provider will perform necessary treatment as part of the screening charge.  However, there may be other additional diagnostic procedures or treatments not normally considered part of a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic tests and administration of immunizations, required at the time of screening.  Additional diagnostic procedures or treatments may be billed independently from the screening.  Some services as set out in this section may require prior authorization.
• (5) For an EPSDT screening to be considered a completed reimbursable service, providers must perform, and document, all required components of the screening examination.  Documentation of screening services performed must be retained for future review.
• (6) All comprehensive screenings provided to individuals under age 21 must be filed on HCFA-1500 using the appropriate preventive medicine procedure code or an appropriate Evaluation and Management code from the Current Procedural Terminology Manual (CPT) accompanied by the appropriate "V" diagnosis code.