RS 46:979: Department responsibility

A. The department shall adopt and promulgate rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act that provide for maximizing Medicaid funding and rates for those hospitals that provide either of the following:

(1) Inpatient services to fragile newborns or critically ill children in either a Level III Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or a Level I Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, which units have been in operation on or before January 1, 2003.

(2) A Medicaid utilization rate of twenty-five percent of total inpatient days or greater.

B. The department shall minimize the impact of budget adjustments made pursuant to R.S. 39:75 or as authorized in the General Appropriation Act upon hospitals qualifying for Medicaid rate maximization under this Section.