DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WELFARE Additional Disproportionate Share Payment [27 Pa.B. 1607] The purpose of this announcement is to provide prior public notice of the Department of Public Welfare's (Department) intent to establish a one time only disproportionate share payment. This change is effective April 1, 1997, through June 30, 1997.
The Department intends to make this payment, in addition to the classes of payment already provided under the Medical Assistance Program to certain hospitals, which render uncompensated care and which the Department has determined would experience significant revenue loss as a result of recent Medical Assistance Program revisions under Act No. 1996-35.
The Department intends to consider a hospital eligible if:
* based on the Department's determination of GA/MNO eligibility discontinuation, the hospital's annual net patient revenue loss exceeds $3.2 million and the hospital receives less than $1.8 million in annual direct medical education payments; or
* based on the Department's determination of GA/MNO eligibility discontinuation, the hospital's annual net patient revenue loss exceeds $3.2 million, the hospital receives annual direct medical education payments of over $1.8 million and the hospital's loss of total annual Medical Assistance revenue is less than 15%; or
* based on the Department's determination of GA/MNO eligibility discontinuation, the hospital's annual net patient revenue loss exceeds $2.5 million with a percentage loss of net patient revenue exceeding 6%; or
* the hospital is eligible for disproportionate share as a rural hospital as defined under the Department's disproportionate share payment policy.
The Department intends to allocate $10 million from the State General Fund for this additional class of disproportionate share payment. The payment will be made to qualifying hospitals based on their percentage of discontinued revenue to the total discontinued revenue of all qualifying hospitals. All payment limitations are still applicable, namely that the Commonwealth may not exceed its aggregate annual disproportionate share allotment, and that no hospital may receive disproportionate share payments in excess of its hospital-specific limit.
Fiscal Impact
For Fiscal Year 1996-97, the fiscal impact as a result of the disproportionate share payment will be $21.2 million in total funds ($10 million in State General funds and $11.2 million in Federal funds).
Contact Person
A copy of this notice is available for review at local County Assistance Offices. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to this notice within 30 days of this publication. These comments should be sent to the Department of Public Welfare, Office of Medical Assistance Programs, c/o Deputy Secretary's Office, Attention: Regulations Coordinator, Room 515 Health and Welfare Building, Harrisburg, PA 17120.
FEATHER O. HOUSTOUN,
SecretaryFiscal Note: 14-NOT-141. (1) General Fund; (2) Implementing Year 1996-97 is $10,000,000; (3) 1st Succeeding Year 1997-98 is $-0-; 2nd Succeeding Year 1998-99 is $-0-; 3rd Succeeding Year 1999-00 is $-0-; 4th Succeeding Year 2000-01 is $-0-; 5th Succeeding Year 2001-02 is $-0-; (4) FY 1995-96 is $452,180,000; FY 1994-95 is $551,811,000; FY 1993-94 is $681,793,000; (7) Medical Assistance-Inpatient; (8) recommends adoption. This notice announces that the Department of Public Welfare will establish a Community Access Pool (CAP) to provide payments to certain hospitals that were adversely af-fected by the recent Medical Assistance Program revisions. The increased costs outlined above have been included in the current budget.
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 97-484. Filed for public inspection March 28, 1997, 9:00 a.m.]
