Sec. 8. (a) This section does not apply during the period that the office is assessing a hospital fee authorized by IC 16-21-10. A provider that qualifies as a municipal disproportionate share provider under IC 12-15-16-1 shall receive a disproportionate share adjustment, subject to the provider's hospital specific limits described in subsection (b), as follows:

(1) For each state fiscal year ending on or after June 30, 1998, an amount shall be distributed to each provider qualifying as a municipal disproportionate share provider under IC 12-15-16-1. The total amount distributed shall not exceed the sum of all hospital specific limits for all qualifying providers.

(2) For each municipal disproportionate share provider qualifying under IC 12-15-16-1 to receive disproportionate share payments, the amount in subdivision (1) shall be reduced by the amount of disproportionate share payments received by the provider under IC 12-15-16-6 or sections 1 or 2.1 of this chapter. The office shall develop a disproportionate share provider payment methodology that ensures that each municipal disproportionate share provider receives disproportionate share payments that do not exceed the provider's hospital specific limit specified in subsection (b). The methodology developed by the office shall ensure that a municipal disproportionate share provider receives, to the extent possible, disproportionate share payments that, when combined with any other disproportionate share payments owed to the provider, equals the provider's hospital specific limits.

(b) Total disproportionate share payments to a provider under this chapter and IC 12-15-16 shall not exceed the hospital specific limit provided under 42 U.S.C. 1396r-4(g). The hospital specific limit for state fiscal years ending on or before June 30, 1999, shall be determined by the office taking into account data provided by each hospital for the hospital's most recent fiscal year or, if a change in fiscal year causes the most recent fiscal period to be less than twelve (12) months, twelve (12) months of data compiled to the end of the provider's fiscal year that ends within the most recent state fiscal year, as certified to the office by an independent certified public accounting firm. The hospital specific limit for all state fiscal years ending on or after June 30, 2000, shall be determined by the office taking into account data provided by each hospital that is deemed 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) For each of the state fiscal years:

(1) beginning July 1, 1998, and ending June 30, 1999; and

(2) beginning July 1, 1999, and ending June 30, 2000;

the total municipal disproportionate share payments available under this section to qualifying municipal disproportionate share providers is twenty-two million dollars ($22,000,000).

As added by P.L.126-1998, SEC.12. Amended by P.L.113-2000, SEC.15; P.L.229-2011, SEC.138; P.L.205-2013, SEC.201.