Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §1714-B is enacted to read:

§1714-B.__Hospital interim payments; settlements

1.__Hospital prospective interim payments.__The department's total annual prospective interim payment obligation to any acute care institution required to be licensed as a hospital under section 1811 is adjusted at the beginning of each state fiscal year and is based on the sum of the amounts of MaineCare's obligation for the following, based on the hospital's most recent as filed cost report:

A.__Inpatient services;

B.__Outpatient services;

C.__Inpatient capital costs;

D.__Hospital-based physician and graduate medical education costs; and

E.__Days awaiting placement.

The department may not apply any caps on hospital prospective interim payment amounts.

2.__Hospital interim settlements.__The department's interim settlement with any acute care institution required to be licensed as a hospital under section 1811 must be calculated using the same method used when calculating the periodic interim payments, except that the data source used for inpatient calculations is discharges and charges included in MaineCare paid claims history for the year for which settlement is being performed, as measured by the department.__Other calculations must be based on the hospital's as-filed cost report and the MaineCare paid claims history for the year for which interim settlement is being performed.__The department shall issue any interim settlement payments owed within one year after receipt of the hospital's as-filed cost report.

SUMMARY

This bill requires the Department of Health and Human Services to use current hospital cost reports to calculate amounts owed to hospitals and pay any amounts due within one year of receiving the hospital cost report.