PDFWAC 182-550-4900
Disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments—General provisions.
(1) As required by Section 1902 (a)(13)(A) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1396 (a)(13)(A)) and RCW 74.09.730, the medicaid agency makes payment adjustments to eligible hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income clients with special needs. These adjustments are also known as disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments.
(2) No hospital has a legal entitlement to any DSH payment. A hospital may receive DSH payments only if:
(a) It satisfies the requirements of 42 U.S.C. 1396r-4;
(b) It satisfies all the requirements of agency rules and policies; and
(c) The legislature appropriates sufficient funds.
(3) For purposes of eligibility for DSH payments, the following definitions apply:
(a) "Base year" means the 12-month medicare cost report year that ended during the calendar year immediately preceding the year in which the state fiscal year (SFY) for which the DSH application is being made begins.
(b) "Case mix index (CMI)" means the average of diagnosis related group (DRG) weights for all of an individual hospital's DRG-paid medicaid claims during the SFY two years prior to the SFY for which the DSH application is being made.
(c) "Charity care" means necessary hospital care rendered to persons unable to pay for the hospital services or unable to pay the deductibles or coinsurance amounts required by a third-party payer. The charity care amount is determined in accordance with the hospital's published charity care policy.
(d) "DSH reporting data file (DRDF)" means the information submitted by hospitals to the agency which the agency uses to verify medicaid client eligibility and applicable inpatient days.
(e) "Hospital-specific DSH cap" means the maximum amount of DSH payments a hospital may receive from the agency during a SFY. If a hospital does not qualify for DSH, the agency will not calculate the hospital-specific DSH cap and the hospital will not receive DSH payments.
(f) "Inpatient medicaid days" means inpatient days attributed to clients eligible for Title XIX medicaid programs. Excluded from this count are inpatient days attributed to clients eligible for state administered programs, medicare Part A, Title XXI, the refugee program and the family planning only programs.
(g) "Low income utilization rate (LIUR)" means the sum of the following two percentages used to determine whether a hospital is DSH-eligible:
(i) The ratio of payments received by the hospital for patient services provided to clients under medicaid (including managed care), plus cash subsidies received by the hospital from state and local governments for patient services, divided by total payments received by the hospital from all patient categories; plus
(ii) The ratio of inpatient charity care charges less inpatient cash subsidies received by the hospital from state and local governments, less contractual allowances and discounts, divided by total charges for inpatient services.
(h) "Medicaid inpatient utilization rate (MIPUR)" means the calculation (expressed as a percentage) used to determine whether a hospital is DSH-eligible. The numerator of which is the hospital's number of inpatient days attributable to clients who (for such days) were eligible for medical assistance during the base year (regardless of whether such clients received medical assistance on a fee-for-service basis or through a managed care entity), and the denominator of which is the total number of the hospital's inpatient days in that period. "Inpatient days" include each day in which a person (including a newborn) is an inpatient in the hospital, whether or not the person is in a specialized ward and whether or not the person remains in the hospital for lack of suitable placement elsewhere.
(i) "Medicare cost report year" means the 12-month period included in the annual cost report a medicare-certified hospital or institutional provider is required by law to submit to its fiscal intermediary.
(j) "Nonrural hospital" means a hospital that:
(i) Is not participating in the "full cost" public hospital certified public expenditure (CPE) payment program as described in WAC 182-550-4650;
(ii) Is not designated as an "institution for mental diseases (IMD)" as defined in WAC 182-550-2600 (2)(d);
(iii) Is not a small rural hospital as defined in (n) of this subsection; and
(iv) Is located in the state of Washington or in a designated bordering city. For DSH purposes, the agency considers as nonrural any hospital located in a designated bordering city.
(k) "Obstetric services" means routine, nonemergency obstetric services and the delivery of babies.
(l) "Service year" means the one-year period used to measure the costs and associated charges for hospital services. The service year may refer to a hospital's fiscal year or medicare cost report year, or to a state fiscal year.
(m) "Statewide disproportionate share hospital (DSH) cap" means the maximum amount per SFY that the state can distribute in DSH payments to all qualifying hospitals during a SFY.
(n) "Small rural hospital" means a hospital that:
(i) Is not participating in the "full cost" public hospital certified public expenditure (CPE) payment program as described in WAC 182-550-4650;
(ii) Is not designated as an "institution for mental diseases (IMD)" as defined in WAC 182-550-2600 (2)(d);
(iii) Has fewer than 75 acute beds;
(iv) Is located in the state of Washington; and
(v) Is located in a city or town with a nonstudent population of no more than 17,806 in calendar year 2008, as determined by population data reported by the Washington state office of financial management population of cities, towns and counties used for the allocation of state revenues. This nonstudent population is used for SFY 2010, which begins July 1, 2009. For each subsequent SFY, the nonstudent population is increased by two percent.
(o) "Uninsured patient" means a person without creditable coverage as defined in 45 C.F.R. 146.113. (An "insured patient," for DSH program purposes, is a person with creditable coverage, even if the insurer did not pay the full charges for the service.) To determine whether a service provided to an uninsured patient may be included for DSH application and calculation purposes, the agency considers only services that would have been covered and paid through the agency's fee-for-service process.
(4) To be considered for a DSH payment for each SFY, a hospital must meet the criteria in this section:
(a) DSH application requirements.
(i) Only a hospital located in the state of Washington or in a designated bordering city is eligible to apply for and receive DSH payments. An institution for mental disease (IMD) owned and operated by the state of Washington is exempt from the DSH application requirement.
(ii) A hospital that meets DSH program criteria is eligible for DSH payments in any SFY only if the agency receives the hospital's DSH application by the deadline posted on the agency's website.
(b) The DSH application review and correction period.
(i) This subsection applies only to DSH applications that meet the requirements under (a) of this subsection.
(ii) The agency reviews and may verify any information provided by the hospital on a DSH application. However, each hospital has the responsibility for ensuring its DSH application is complete and accurate.
(iii) If the agency finds that a hospital's application is incomplete or contains incorrect information, the agency will notify the hospital. The hospital must submit a new, corrected application. The agency must receive the new DSH application from the hospital by the deadline for corrected DSH applications posted on the agency's website.
(iv) If a hospital finds that its application is incomplete or contains incorrect information, it may choose to submit changes and/or corrections to the DSH application. The agency must receive the corrected, complete, and signed DSH application from the hospital by the deadline for corrected DSH applications posted on the agency's website.
(c) Official DSH application.
(i) The agency considers as official the last signed DSH application submitted by the hospital as of the deadline for corrected DSH applications. A hospital cannot change its official DSH application. Only those hospitals with an official DSH application are eligible for DSH payments.
(ii) If the agency finds that a hospital's official DSH application is incomplete or contains inaccurate information that affects the hospital's LIDSH payment(s), the hospital does not qualify for, will not receive, and cannot retain, LIDSH payment(s). Refer to WAC 182-550-5000.
(5) A hospital is a disproportionate share hospital for a specific SFY if the hospital satisfies the medicaid inpatient utilization rate (MIPUR) requirement (discussed in (a) of this subsection), and the obstetric services requirement (discussed in (b) of this subsection).
(a) The hospital must have a MIPUR of one percent or more; and
(b) Unless one of the exceptions described in (i)(A) or (B) of this subsection applies, the hospital must have at least two obstetricians who have staff privileges at the hospital and who have agreed to provide obstetric services to eligible individuals.
(i) The obstetric services requirement does not apply to a hospital that:
(A) Provides inpatient services predominantly to individuals younger than age 18; or
(B) Did not offer nonemergency obstetric services to the general public as of December 22, 1987, when section 1923 of the Social Security Act was enacted.
(ii) For hospitals located in rural areas, "obstetrician" means any physician with staff privileges at the hospital to perform nonemergency obstetric procedures.
(6) To determine a hospital's MIPUR, the agency uses inpatient days as follows:
(a) The total inpatient days on the official DSH application if this number is greater than the total inpatient hospital days on the medicare cost report; and
(b) The MMIS medicaid days as determined by the DSH reporting data file (DRDF) process if the Washington state medicaid days on the official DSH application do not match the eligible days on the final DRDF. If the hospital did not submit a DRDF, the agency uses paid medicaid days from MMIS.
(7) The agency administers the following DSH programs (depending on legislative budget appropriations):
(a) Low income disproportionate share hospital (LIDSH);
(b) Medical care services disproportionate share hospital (MCSDSH);
(c) Small rural disproportionate share hospital (SRDSH);
(d) Small rural indigent assistance disproportionate share hospital (SRIADSH);
(e) Nonrural indigent assistance disproportionate share hospital (NRIADSH);
(f) Public hospital disproportionate share hospital (PHDSH);
(g) Children's health program disproportionate share hospital (CHPDSH); and
(h) Sole community disproportionate share hospital (SCDSH).
(8) The agency allows a hospital to receive any one or all of the DSH payment it qualifies for, up to the individual hospital's DSH cap (see subsection (10) of this section) and provided that total DSH payments do not exceed the statewide DSH cap. To be eligible for payment under multiple DSH programs, a hospital must meet:
(a) The basic requirements in subsection (5) of this section; and
(b) The eligibility requirements for the particular DSH payment, as discussed in the applicable DSH program WAC.
(9) For each SFY, the agency calculates DSH payments for each DSH program for eligible hospitals using data from each hospital's base year. The agency does not use base year data for MCSDSH and CHPDSH payments, which are calculated based on specific claims data.
(10) The agency's total DSH payments to a hospital for any given SFY cannot exceed the hospital-specific DSH cap for that SFY. Except for critical access hospitals (CAHs), the agency determines a hospital's DSH cap as follows. The agency:
(a) Uses the overall ratio of costs-to-charges (RCC) to determine costs for:
(i) Medicaid services, including medicaid services provided under managed care organization (MCO) plans; and
(ii) Uninsured charges; then
(b) Subtracts all payments related to the costs derived in (a) of this subsection; then
(c) Makes any adjustments required and/or authorized by federal statute or regulation.
(11) A CAH's DSH cap is based strictly on the cost to the hospital of providing services to medicaid clients served under MCO plans, and uninsured patients. To determine a CAH's DSH cap amount, the agency:
(a) Uses the overall RCC to determine costs for:
(i) Medicaid services provided under MCO plans; and
(ii) Uninsured charges; then
(b) Subtracts the total payments made by, or on behalf of, the medicaid clients serviced under MCO plans, and uninsured patients.
(12) In any given federal fiscal year, the total of the agency's DSH payments cannot exceed the statewide DSH cap as published in the federal register.
(13) If the agency's DSH payments for any given federal fiscal year exceed the statewide DSH cap, the agency will adjust DSH payments to each hospital to account for the amount overpaid. The agency makes adjustments in the following program order:
(a) PHDSH;
(b) SRIADSH;
(c) SRDSH;
(d) SCDSH;
(e) NRIADSH;
(f) MCSDSH;
(g) CHPDSH; and
(h) LIDSH.
(14) If the statewide DSH cap is exceeded, the agency will recoup DSH payments made under the various DSH programs, in the order of precedence described in subsection (13) of this section, starting with PHDSH, until the amount exceeding the statewide DSH cap is reduced to zero. See specific program regulations in the Washington Administrative Code for description of how amounts to be recouped are determined.
(15) The total amount the agency may distribute annually under a particular DSH program is capped by legislative appropriation. Any changes in payment amount to a hospital in a particular DSH program means a redistribution of payments within that DSH program. When necessary, the agency will recoup from hospitals to make additional payments to other DSH-eligible hospitals within that DSH program.
(16) If funds in a specific DSH program need to be redistributed because of legislative, administrative, or other state action, only those hospitals eligible for that DSH program will be involved in the redistribution.
(a) If an individual hospital has been overpaid by a specified amount, the agency will recoup that overpayment amount from the hospital and redistribute it among the other eligible hospitals in the DSH program. The additional DSH payment to be given to each of the other hospitals from the recouped amount is proportional to each hospital's share of the particular DSH program.
(b) If an individual hospital has been underpaid by a specified amount, the agency will pay that hospital the additional amount owed by recouping from the other hospitals in the DSH program. The amount to be recouped from each of the other hospitals is proportional to each hospital's share of the particular DSH program.
(c) This subsection does not apply to the DSH independent audit findings and recoupment process described in WAC 182-550-4940.
(17) All information related to a hospital's DSH application is subject to audit by the agency or its designee. The agency determines the extent and timing of the audits. For example, the agency or its designee may choose to do an audit of an individual hospital's DSH application and/or supporting documentation, or audit all hospitals that qualified for a particular DSH program after payments have been distributed under that program.
(18) If a hospital's submission of incorrect information or failure to submit correct information results in DSH overpayment to that hospital, the agency will recoup the overpayment amount as allowed in RCW 74.09.220 and chapter 41.05A RCW.
(19) DSH calculations use fiscal year data, and DSH payments are distributed based on funding for a specific SFY. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, changes and clarifications to DSH program rules apply for the full SFY in which the rules are adopted.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 41.05.021 and 41.05.160. WSR 23-11-007, § 182-550-4900, filed 5/4/23, effective 6/4/23. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.05.021 and 42 C.F.R. Part 455, Subpart F. WSR 15-01-037, § 182-550-4900, filed 12/8/14, effective 1/8/15. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.05.021 and 2013 2nd sp.s. c 4. WSR 14-08-038, § 182-550-4900, filed 3/26/14, effective 4/26/14. Statutory Authority: RCW 41.05.021. WSR 12-20-029, § 182-550-4900, filed 9/26/12, effective 10/27/12. WSR 11-14-075, recodified as § 182-550-4900, filed 6/30/11, effective 7/1/11. Statutory Authority: 2009 c 564 §§ 201 and 209, RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, and 74.09.500. WSR 10-11-032, § 388-550-4900, filed 5/11/10, effective 6/11/10. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.500. WSR 07-14-090, § 388-550-4900, filed 6/29/07, effective 8/1/07; WSR 06-08-046, § 388-550-4900, filed 3/30/06, effective 4/30/06. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.04.050, 74.08.090. WSR 05-12-132, § 388-550-4900, filed 6/1/05, effective 7/1/05. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.04.050, and 2003 1st sp.s. c 25. WSR 04-12-044, § 388-550-4900, filed 5/28/04, effective 7/1/04. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.500, 74.09.035(1), and 43.88.290. WSR 03-13-055, § 388-550-4900, filed 6/12/03, effective 7/13/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.730 and 42 U.S.C. 1396r-4. WSR 99-14-040, § 388-550-4900, filed 6/30/99, effective 7/1/99. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.730, 74.04.050, 70.01.010, 74.09.200, [74.09.]500, [74.09.]530 and 43.20B.020. WSR 98-01-124, § 388-550-4900, filed 12/18/97, effective 1/18/98.]