Title 74 — Title 74 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

(1) The purpose of this chapter is to establish a safety net program, including an assessment on certain nongovernmental medicaid prospective payment system hospitals and critical access hospitals and an allowance for intergovernmental transfers for designated public hospitals, w…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Authority" means the health care authority.(2) "Base year" for medicaid fee-for-service payments for state fiscal year 2024 is state fiscal year 2021. For each followi…

(1) A dedicated fund is hereby established within the state treasury to be known as the hospital safety net assessment fund. The purpose and use of the fund shall be to receive and disburse funds, together with accrued interest, in accordance with this chapter. Moneys in the fund…

(1) Upon satisfaction of the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1), and so long as the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(2) have not occurred, an annual assessment is imposed as set forth in this subsection, which shall be paid in equal quarterly installments. For calendar year 2024, the firs…

The following hospitals are exempt from any assessment under this chapter provided that if and to the extent any exemption is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction or by the centers for medicare and medicaid services, hospitals previously exempted shall be liable for …

(1) The authority, in cooperation with the office of financial management, shall develop rules for determining the amount to be assessed to individual hospitals, notifying individual hospitals of the assessed amount, and collecting the amounts due. Such rule making shall specific…

Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to authorize any unit of local government to impose a tax or assessment on hospitals, including but not limited to a tax or assessment measured by a hospital's income, earnings, bed days, or other similar measures.[ 2010 1st sp.s. c 30 s…

The incidence and burden of assessments imposed under this chapter shall be on hospitals and the expense associated with the assessments shall constitute a part of the operating overhead of hospitals. Hospitals shall not increase charges or billings to patients or third-party pay…

In each calendar year and upon satisfaction of the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1), and so long as none of the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(2) occur, after deducting or reserving amounts authorized to be disbursed under RCW 74.60.020(4) (d), (e), (f), and (g), disbursements from th…

(1) In consultation with the Washington state hospital association, the authority shall design and implement a medicaid directed payment program, consistent with 42 C.F.R. Sec. 438.6(c), intended to promote access to high quality inpatient and outpatient care provided by designat…

(1) In each calendar year commencing upon satisfaction of the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1), the authority may make grants to financially distressed hospitals.(2) To qualify for a grant, a hospital must:(a) Be located in Washington, and not be part of a system of three or more h…

In each fiscal year commencing upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1), $2,040,000 must be distributed from the fund and, with available federal matching funds, paid to hospitals eligible for small rural disproportionate share payments under WAC 182-550…

(1) For each calendar year, beginning January 1, 2024, or upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1), whichever is later, the authority shall make supplemental payments directly to Washington hospitals, separately for inpatient and outpatient fee-for-servi…

(1) Beginning on the later of January 1, 2024, or 30 calendar days after satisfaction of the conditions in RCW 74.60.150(1) and subsection (3) of this section, and for each subsequent calendar year so long as none of the conditions stated in RCW 74.60.150(2) have occurred, the au…

(1) If an entity owns or operates more than one hospital subject to assessment under this chapter, the entity shall pay the assessment for each hospital separately. However, if the entity operates multiple hospitals under a single medicaid provider number, it may pay the assessme…

(1) The assessment, collection, and disbursement of funds under this chapter shall be conditional upon:(a) Final approval by the centers for medicare and medicaid services in order to implement the applicable sections of this chapter, except under RCW 74.60.090, including, if nec…

(1) The legislature intends to provide the hospitals with an opportunity to contract with the authority each fiscal biennium to protect the hospitals from future legislative action during the biennium that could result in hospitals receiving less from supplemental payments, incre…

(1) The estimated hospital net financial benefit under this chapter shall be determined by the authority by summing the following anticipated hospital payments, including all applicable federal matching funds, RCW 74.60.110 for payments to small rural disproportionate share hospi…

(1) The provisions of RCW 74.60.090 is [are] severable from the remainder of this chapter, unless the condition stated in RCW 74.60.150(3)(c) occurs. The other provisions of this chapter are not severable; if the conditions set forth in RCW 74.60.150(1) cannot be satisfied or if …

Upon expiration of chapter 74.60 RCW, inpatient and outpatient hospital reimbursement rates shall return to a funding level as if the four percent medicaid inpatient and outpatient rate reductions did not occur on July 1, 2009, using the rate structure in effect July 1, 2015, or …