108A-121. Definitions.

The following definitions apply in this Article:

(1) CMS. - Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

(2) Critical access hospital. - Defined in 42 C.F.R. 400.202.

(3) Department. - The Department of Health and Human Services.

(4) Equity assessment. - The assessment payable under G.S. 108A-123.

(5) Medicaid equity payment. - The amount required to be paid under G.S. 108A-124.

(6) Public hospital. - A hospital that certifies its public expenditures to the Department pursuant to 42 C.F.R. 433.51(b) during the fiscal year for which the assessment applies.

(7) Secretary. - The Secretary of Health and Human Services.

(8) State's annual Medicaid payment. - For an assessment collected under this Article, an amount equal to twenty-eight and eighty-five one hundredths percent (28.85%) of the total amount collected under the assessment.

(9) Total hospital costs. - The costs as calculated using the most recent available Hospital Cost Report Information Systems cost report data, available through CMS, or other comparable data.

(10) Upper pay limit (UPL). - The maximum ceiling imposed by federal regulation on hospital Medicaid payments under 42 C.F.R. 447.272 for inpatient services.

(11) UPL assessment. - The assessment payable under G.S. 108A-123.

(12) UPL gap. - The difference between the UPL attributable to hospital inpatient services and the reasonable costs of inpatient hospital services as defined in Section (f)(2)(A) on page 11 of Attachment 4.19-A of the State Medicaid Plan as approved on December 15, 2005.

(13) UPL payment. - The amount required to be paid under G.S. 108A-124.