Sec. 2.1. (a) This section does not apply during the period that the office is assessing a hospital fee authorized by IC 16-21-10. For each state fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 2000, the office shall develop a disproportionate share payment methodology that ensures that each hospital qualifying for disproportionate share payments under IC 12-15-16-1(a) timely receives total disproportionate share payments that do not exceed the hospital's hospital specific limit provided under 42 U.S.C. 1396r-4(g). The payment methodology as developed by the office must:

(1) maximize disproportionate share hospital payments to qualifying hospitals to the extent practicable;

(2) take into account the situation of those qualifying hospitals that have historically qualified for Medicaid disproportionate share payments; and

(3) ensure that payments for qualifying hospitals are equitable.

(b) Total disproportionate share payments to a hospital under this chapter shall not exceed the hospital specific limit provided under 42 U.S.C. 1396r-4(g). The hospital specific limit for a state fiscal year shall be determined by the office taking into account data provided by each hospital that is considered reliable by the office based on a system of periodic audits, the use of trending factors, and an appropriate base year determined by the office. The office may require independent certification of data provided by a hospital to determine the hospital's hospital specific limit.

(c) The office shall include a provision in each amendment to the state plan regarding Medicaid disproportionate share payments that the office submits to the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that, as provided in 42 CFR 447.297(d)(3), allows the state to make additional disproportionate share expenditures after the end of each federal fiscal year that relate back to a prior federal fiscal year. However, the total disproportionate share payments to:

(1) each individual hospital; and

(2) all qualifying hospitals in the aggregate;

may not exceed the limits provided by federal law and regulation.

As added by P.L.113-2000, SEC.12. Amended by P.L.283-2001, SEC.24; P.L.66-2002, SEC.10; P.L.212-2007, SEC.8; P.L.218-2007, SEC.18; P.L.229-2011, SEC.136; P.L.205-2013, SEC.199.