108A-124. Use of assessment proceeds.

(a) Use. - The proceeds of the assessments imposed under this Article and all corresponding matching federal funds must be used to make the State annual Medicaid payment to the State and the Medicaid equity payments and UPL payments to hospitals.

(b) Quarterly Payments. - Within seven business days following the due date for each quarterly assessment imposed under G.S. 108A-123, the Secretary must do the following:

(1) Pay to each hospital that has paid its equity assessment for the respective quarter twenty-five percent (25%) of its Medicaid equity payment amount. A hospital's Medicaid equity payment amount is the sum of the hospital's Medicaid inpatient and outpatient deficits after calculating all other Medicaid payments, excluding disproportionate share hospital payments and the UPL payment remitted to the hospital under subdivision (2) of this subsection.

(2) Pay to the primary affiliated teaching hospital for the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, to the critical access hospitals, and to each hospital that has paid its UPL assessment for the respective quarter twenty-five percent (25%) of its UPL payment amount, as determined under subsection (c) of this section.

(3) Pay to the primary affiliated teaching hospital for the East Carolina University Brody School of Medicine, to the critical access hospitals, and to each hospital that has paid its UPL assessment for the respective quarter twenty-five percent (25%) of its UPL payment amount, as determined under subsection (c) of this section.

(c) UPL Payment Amount. - The aggregate UPL payments made to eligible hospitals that are public hospitals is the sum of the UPL gaps for all public hospitals. The aggregate UPL payments made to eligible hospitals that are not public hospitals is the sum of the UPL gaps for these hospitals. UPL payments are payable to the individual hospitals in the ratio of each hospital's Medicaid inpatient costs to the total Medicaid inpatient costs for the respective group.

(d) Refund of Assessment. - If all or any part of a payment required to be made under this section is not made to one or more hospitals when due, the Secretary must promptly refund to each such hospital the corresponding assessment proceeds collected in proportion to the amount of assessment paid by that hospital.