JALCAR conditionally approves Department of Safety interim rule to include VA physicians in "medical provider" definition

At a meeting of the Joint Legislative Committee on Administrative Rules (JALCAR) called to order at 9:00 a.m., the committee gave conditional approval to the Department of Safety’s interim rule 25-1 after staff amendments to the definition of “medical provider” and to a Department form.

Committee staff told JALCAR the interim rule was prompted by changes in statute and that the committee received no substantive comments on the rule language. Staff said an associated problem became clear: the rule and its form initially limited the medically authorized signature to a physician licensed in New Hampshire, which excluded some veterans whose doctors are licensed in other states but are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Staff summarized the proposed fix as adding a definition to include physicians licensed in any U.S. state who are affiliated with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and striking references to “New Hampshire” on the form.

Karen Schlitzer, Department of Safety, told the committee the specific page to be changed is the last page of the packet (form 603), and that the department would remove the reference to New Hampshire from the signature line. “The 1 additional area we would like to strike is on the form 603, which is at the very back of the packet,” Schlitzer said.

A senator on the committee asked whether the top of the form should say “signed by a licensed physician” because the signature line reads “licensed physician” and the statutory term “medical provider” can be broader. Committee staff responded that the department’s amendment creates the intended definition within the rule and that the term is not statutorily defined here. Schlitzer confirmed the form’s signature line would read “licensed physician” rather than “New Hampshire licensed physician.”

Representative McGuire moved conditional approval of the interim rule as amended; Representative Lay seconded. The committee acted by voice vote. The chair announced, “Ayes have it,” and the motion passed.

The committee also completed routine business earlier in the session: it approved the minutes (motion by Representative Rose, second by Representative McGuire) and adopted the consent calendar (motion by Representative Leon, second by Representative Magu). Those items were decided by voice vote with the chair declaring the ayes had it.

The committee ended discussion of the Department of Safety rule after the vote and moved on to other agenda items.