12VAC30-70-351: Updating rates for inflation

A. Each July, the Virginia moving average values as compiled and published by Global Insight (or its successor), under contract with the department shall be used to update the base year standardized operating costs per case, as determined in 12VAC30-70-361, and the base year standardized operating costs per day, as determined in 12VAC30-70-371, to the midpoint of the upcoming state fiscal year. The most current table available prior to the effective date of the new rates shall be used to inflate base year amounts to the upcoming rate year. Thus, corrections made by Global Insight (or its successor), in the moving averages that were used to update rates for previous state fiscal years shall be automatically incorporated into the moving averages that are being used to update rates for the upcoming state fiscal year.

B. The inflation adjustment for hospital operating rates, disproportionate share hospitals (DSH) payments, and graduate medical education payments shall be eliminated for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The elimination of the inflation adjustments shall not be applicable to rebasing in FY 2011.

C. In FY 2011, hospital operating rates shall be rebased; however the 2008 base year costs shall only be increased 2.58% for inflation. For FY 2011 there shall be no inflation adjustment for graduate medical education (GME) or freestanding psychiatric facility rates. The inflation adjustment shall be eliminated for hospital operating rates, GME payments, and freestanding psychiatric facility rates for FY 2012. The inflation adjustment shall be 2.6% for inpatient hospitals, including hospital operating rates, GME payments, DSH payments, and freestanding psychiatric facility rates for FY 2013, and 0.0% for the same facilities for FY 2014, FY 2015, and FY 2016. For FY 2017, the inflation adjustment for inpatient hospital operating rates, GME, DSH, and freestanding psychiatric hospitals shall be 50% of the adjustment calculated in subsection A of this section. In FY 2018, the inflation adjustment for inpatient hospital operating rates, GME, DSH, and freestanding psychiatric hospitals shall be eliminated for inpatient hospitals. A full inflation adjustment payment shall be made in both FY 2017 and FY 2018 to Virginia freestanding children's hospitals with greater than 50% Medicaid utilization in 2009.