27-2-12.36: Equitable reimbursement for services provided at birth centers.

A. For the purposes of this section:

(1) "birth center" means a freestanding birth center licensed by the state for the primary purpose of performing low-risk deliveries that is not a hospital, attached to a hospital or in a hospital and where births are planned to occur away from the pregnant person's residence following a low-risk pregnancy;

(2) "medicaid" means the medical assistance program established pursuant to Title 19 of the federal Social Security Act and regulations issued pursuant to that act; and

(3) "medicaid recipient" means a person whom the department has determined to be eligible to receive medicaid-related services.

B. The secretary shall adopt rules that:

(1) create a methodology to determine medicaid facility fee reimbursement rates for birth centers that are comparable to rates for similar services provided at a hospital; and

(2) require annual increases to birth center facility fee reimbursement rates that are equivalent to hospital reimbursement rate increases.