PROPOSED RULEMAKING
STATE BOARD OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
[49 PA. CODE CH. 25]
Application Fees
[29 Pa.B. 1613] The State Board of Osteopathic Medicine (Board) proposes to amend §§ 25.231 and 25.503 (relating to schedule of fees; and fees) by revising those fees which are not related to license renewals but rather to applications and specific services so as to accurately reflect the cost of processing applications and providing services. The proposed changes are set forth in Annex A.
A. Effective Date
The proposed amendments will take effect when they are published as final rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
B. Statutory Authority
Section 13.1(a) of the Osteopathic Medical Practice Act (act) (63 P. S. § 271.13a(a)), requires the Board to establish fees by regulation. The same provision requires the Board to increase fees to meet or exceed projected expenditures if the revenues raised by fees, fines and civil penalties are not sufficient to meet expenditures.
C. Background and Purpose
The act requires the Board to set fees by regulation so that revenues meet or exceed expenditures. General operating expenses of the Board are funded through biennial license renewal fees which are paid by all licensees. Expenses of the Board which are related to processing individual applications or providing certain services directly to individual licensees or applicants are excluded from general operating revenues. These expenses are funded through fees which are based on the cost of providing the service. The fee is charged to the person requesting the service. These application and service fees are the focus of this proposed rulemaking.
A recent systems audit of the operations of this and other boards within the Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs analyzed the fees for services to licensees and applicants to determine if the fees reflected the actual cost of providing the services. Actual cost calculations are based on the following formula:
number of minutes to perform the function
x
pay rate of personnel performing the function
+
a proportionate share of administrative overhead.The analysis determined that the current application and service fees did not accurately reflect the actual cost of processing the following: application for osteopathic license; application for short-term camp license for an osteopathic physician; temporary training license or graduate training certificate for osteopathic physician; application for physician assistant certificate; application for registration as supervising physician; uncertified verification of license or permit; certification of license, examination grades or hours; application for registration as an acupuncturist; application for registration as an acupuncturist supervisor; temporary permit for respiratory care practitioner; initial license application for respiratory care practitioner; and fees for American Registry of Radiologic Technologists examinations.
Fees for most of these services were established in 1990. The fee for application for osteopathic license was established in January, 1989. The fees regarding acupuncturists were established in January, 1994. The fees for application for respiratory care practitioner and for a temporary permit for respiratory care practitioner were established in November, 1996. In some cases the fees exceeded actual cost, but in most, the fees fell short of the cost to provide the service.
Fees for the services identified in this proposal would be adjusted to allocate costs to those who use the service or submit the application.
The Board proposes a new fee of $25 to cover the cost of processing applications for the Radiography, Nuclear Medicine Technology, Radiation Therapy Technology, limited Examination in Radiography--Thorax and extremities and limited examination in Radiography--skull and sinuses. The Board had previously charged a fee for each examination which covered the cost of both processing the application and the examination itself. The examination fee is now paid to the examination contractor and covers only the cost of the examination, not the Board's cost in processing the application. The application fee now covers the cost of processing the application.
The Board also proposes to delete from its regulations the fee for Study Materials for ARRT Limited Examination in Radiography. As a convenience to applicants taking the limited radiography examination, the Board makes available study materials for applicants. Applicants are not required to purchase the materials either by the Board or any other entity. The Board is not required to provide the materials. The Board purchases the materials from the publisher and passes the materials on to those applicants who wish to obtain them. The Board improvidently implemented this optional service as a fee set by regulation. The publishers have changed the price of the materials several times since the implementation of the fee. The publisher does not give notice of its intention to change price. It is impractical for the Board to attempt to maintain a fee for this completely optional service. At the present time the publisher charges $27 for the materials. The Board loses money every time it provides the materials because the fee is fixed at $21. The Board proposes to delete the fee so that the materials could be provided at actual cost.
The fee increases have resulted from increases in staff costs and administrative overhead. The significant decreases in the costs of the application for unrestricted license to practice as an osteopathic physician and the application for physician assistant result from the processing of routine applications by Board staff. The Board had previously reviewed all physician and physician assistant applications. The Board now reviews only those physician and physician assistant applications which appear to contain problems or discrepancies.
D. Compliance with Executive Order 1996-1
In accordance with the requirements of Executive Order 1996-1 (February 1, 1996), in drafting and promulgating the proposed amendments the Board considered the proposed amendments as both required by law and the least restrictive means of covering the costs of services requested by licensees and applicants.
E. Fiscal Impact and Paperwork Requirements
The proposed amendments will have no adverse fiscal impact on the Commonwealth or its political subdivisions. The fees will have a modest fiscal impact on those members of the private sector who apply for services from the Board. The amendments will not impose additional paperwork requirements upon the Commonwealth, political subdivisions or the private sector.
F. Sunset Date
The Board continuously monitors the cost effectiveness of its regulations. Therefore, no sunset date has been assigned.
G. Regulatory Review
Under section 5(a) of the Regulatory Review Act (71 P. S. § 745.5(a)), on March 17, 1999, the Board submitted a copy of these proposed amendments to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC) and the Chairpersons of the House Professional Licensure Committee and the Senate Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure Committee. In addition to submitting the proposed amendments, the Board has provided IRRC and the Committees with a copy of a detailed regulatory analysis form prepared by the Board in compliance with Executive Order 1996-1, ''Regulatory Review and Promulgation.'' A copy of the material is available to the public upon request.
If IRRC has objections to any portion of the proposed amendments, it will notify the Board within 10 days of the close of the Committees' review period, The notification shall specify the regulatory review criteria which have not been met by that portion. The Regulatory Review Act specifies detailed procedures for review of objections prior to final publication of the regulation by the agency, the General Assembly and the Governor.
H. Public Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit written comments, suggestions or objections regarding this proposed rulemaking to Gina Bittner, Administrative Assistant, State Board of Osteopathic Medicine, P. O. Box 2649, Harrisburg, PA 17105-2649 within 30 days following publication of this proposed rulemaking in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. Please reference No. 16A-5310 (Application Fees) when submitting comments.
SILVIA M. FERRETTI, D.O.,
ChairpersonFiscal Note: 16A-5310. No fiscal impact; (8) recommends adoption.
Annex A
TITLE 49. PROFESSIONAL AND VOCATIONAL STANDARDS
PART I. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Subpart A. PROFESSIONAL AND OCCUPATIONAL AFFAIRS
CHAPTER 25. STATE BOARD OF OSTEOPATHIC MEDICINE
Subchapter F. FEES § 25.231. Schedule of fees.
An applicant for a license, certificate, registration or service shall pay the following fees at the time of application:
Application for unrestricted license to practice as osteopathic physician--original reciprocal, boundary or by endorsement $[85]45 Application for short-term camp license as osteopathic physician $[25]30 * * * * * Temporary training license or graduate training certificate $[25]30 * * * * * Application for physician assistant certificate $[85]30 Application for supervising physician $[80]95 Uncertified verification of [licensure] any license or permit $[10]15 Certification of [licensure] any license, examination grades or hours $[15]25 * * * * * Application for radiology (ARRT) examinations $25 ARRT Examination in Radiography $[30]20 ARRT Examination in Nuclear Medicine Technology $[30]20 ARRT Examination in Radiation Therapy Technology $20 ARRT Limited Examination in Radiography--Thorax and Extremities $[35]25 ARRT Limited Examination in Radiography--Skull and Sinuses $[35]25 [Study Materials for ARRT Limited Examination in Radiography $21] Application for acupuncturist registration $[15]30 * * * * * Application for acupuncturist supervisor registration $[15]30
Subchapter K. RESPIRATORY CARE PRACTITIONERS § 25.503. Fees.
The following is the schedule of fees charged by the Board:
(1) Temporary permit $[15]30 (2) Initial [certification] license application $[15]30 (3) Certification examination [$90 (Effective 7-96)] $100 * * * * *
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 99-501. Filed for public inspection March 26, 1999, 9:00 a.m.]
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