SB 5734 — Concerning the hospital safety net assessment.

S-1553.1SUBSTITUTES-0988.1SENATE SENATE BILL 5734State of Washington66th Legislature2019 Regular SessionBySenateSessionBySenators Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Cleveland and Becker)READBeckerAN FIRST TIME 02/22/19.AN ACT Relating to the hospital safety net assessment;

RCW 74.60.005 and 2017 c 228 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:(1) The purpose of this chapter is to provide for a safety net assessment on certain Washington hospitals, which will be used solely to augment funding from all other sources and thereby support additional payments to hospitals for medicaid services as specified in this chapter.(2) The legislature finds that federal health care reform will result in an expansion of medicaid enrollment in this state and an increase in federal financial participation.(3) In adopting this chapter, it is the intent of the legislature:(a) To impose a hospital safety net assessment to be used solely for the purposes specified in this chapter;(b) To generate approximately one billion dollars per state fiscal biennium in new state and federal funds by disbursing all of that amount to pay for medicaid hospital services and grants to certified public expenditure and critical access hospitals, except costs of administration as specified in this chapter, in the form of additional payments to hospitals and managed care plans, which may not be a substitute for payments from other sources, but which include quality improvement incentive payments under RCW 74.09.611;(c) To generate two hundred ninety-two million dollars per biennium during the ((2017-2019))2019-2021((2017-2019))2021-2023 and ((2019-2021))2021-2023((2019-2021))2023-2025 biennia in new funds to be used in lieu of state general fund payments for medicaid hospital services;(d) That the total amount assessed not exceed the amount needed, in combination with all other available funds, to support the payments authorized by this chapter;(e) To condition the assessment on receiving federal approval for receipt of additional federal financial participation and on continuation of other funding sufficient to maintain aggregate payment levels to hospitals for inpatient and outpatient services covered by medicaid, including fee-for-service and managed care, at least at the rates the state paid for those services on July 1, 2015, as adjusted for current enrollment and utilization;

Ten million two hundred sixty thousand dollars in each state fiscal year ((20182018 through 2021))20202021, through 2023, except if the full amount of the payments required under RCW 74.60.120(1) and 74.60.130 cannot be distributed in a given fiscal year, the amounts in this subsection must be reduced proportionately;(c) All other certified public expenditure hospitals:

((Six million three hundred forty-five))Five million six hundred fifteen thousand dollars in each state fiscal year ((20182018 through 2021))20202021, through 2023, except if the full amount of the payments required under RCW 74.60.120(1) and 74.60.130 cannot be distributed in a given fiscal year, the amounts in this subsection must be reduced proportionately.

If there are federal restrictions, to the extent allowed, funds that cannot be paid under (a) of this subsection, should be paid under (b) of this subsection, and funds that cannot be paid under (b) of this subsection, shall be paid under (a) of this subsection:(a) For inpatient fee-for-service payments for prospective payment hospitals other than psychiatric or rehabilitation hospitals, twenty-nine millionmillion(( ((oneone hundred sixty-two))eight hundred ninety-two thousand five hundred dollars per state fiscal year plus federal matching funds;(b) For outpatient fee-for-service payments for prospective payment hospitals other than psychiatric or rehabilitation hospitals, thirty million dollars per state fiscal year plus federal matching funds;(c) For inpatient fee-for-service payments for psychiatric hospitals, eight hundred seventy-five thousand dollars per state fiscal year plus federal matching funds;(d) For inpatient fee-for-service payments for rehabilitation hospitals, two hundred twenty-five thousand dollars per state fiscal year plus federal matching funds;(e) For inpatient fee-for-service payments for border hospitals, two hundred fifty thousand dollars per state fiscal year plus federal matching funds;

RCW 74.60.901 and 2017 c 228 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:This chapter expires July 1, ((2021))2023.NEW((2021))2025.NEW SECTION.  Sec.