Welf. & Inst. Code, § 14166.4

(a) Notwithstanding Article 2.6 (commencing with Section 14081), and any other provision of law, fee-for-service payments to the designated public hospitals for inpatient services to Medi-Cal beneficiaries shall be governed by this section. Each of the designated public hospitals shall receive as payment for inpatient hospital services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries during any project year or successor demonstration year, the hospital’s allowable costs incurred in providing those services, multiplied by the federal medical assistance percentage. These costs shall be determined, certified, and claimed in accordance with Sections 14166.8 and 14166.9. All Medicaid federal financial participation received by the state for the certified public expenditures of the hospital, or the governmental entity with which the hospital is affiliated, for inpatient hospital services rendered to Medi-Cal beneficiaries shall be paid to the hospital.

(b) With respect to each project year and successor demonstration year, each of the designated public hospitals shall receive an interim payment for each day of inpatient hospital services rendered to Medi-Cal beneficiaries based upon claims filed by the hospital in accordance with the claiming process set forth in Division 3 (commencing with Section 50000) of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. The interim per diem payment amount shall be based on estimated costs, which shall be derived from statistical data from the following sources and which shall be multiplied by the federal medical assistance percentage:

(1) For allowable costs reflected in the Medicare cost report, the cost report most recently audited by the hospital’s Medicare fiscal intermediary adjusted by a trend factor to reflect increased costs, as approved by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for the demonstration project.

(2) For allowable costs not reflected in the Medicare cost report, each hospital shall provide hospital-specific cost data requested by the department. The department shall adjust the data by a trend factor as necessary to reflect project year allowable costs.

(c) Until the department commences making payments pursuant to subdivision (b), the department may continue to make fee-for-service, per diem payments to the designated public hospitals, pursuant to the selective provider contracting program in accordance with Article 2.6 (commencing with Section 14081), for services rendered on and after July 1, 2005, for a period of 120 days following the award of this demonstration. Per diem payments shall be adjusted retroactively to the amounts determined under the payment methodology prescribed in this article.

(d) No later than April 1 following the end of the relevant reporting period for the project year or successor demonstration year, the department shall undertake an interim reconciliation of payments made pursuant to subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, based on Medicare and other cost and statistical data submitted by the hospital for the year and shall adjust payments to the hospital accordingly.

(e) (1) The designated public hospitals shall receive supplemental reimbursement for the costs incurred for physician and nonphysician practitioner services provided to Medi-Cal beneficiaries who are patients of the hospital, to the extent that those services are not claimed as inpatient hospital services by the hospital and the costs of those services are not otherwise recognized under subdivision (a).

(2) Expenditures made by the designated public hospital, or a governmental entity with which it is affiliated, for the services identified in paragraph (1) shall be reduced by any payments received pursuant to Article 7 (commencing with Section 51501) of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations. The remainder shall be certified by the appropriate public official and claimed by the department in accordance with Sections 14166.8 and 14166.9. These expenditures may include any of the following:

(A) Compensation to physicians or nonphysician practitioners pursuant to contracts with the designated public hospital.

(B) Salaries and related costs for employed physicians and nonphysician practitioners.

(C) The costs of interns, residents, and related teaching physician and supervision costs.

(D) Administrative costs associated with the services described in subparagraphs (A) to (C), inclusive, including billing costs.

(3) Designated public hospitals shall receive federal funding based on the expenditures identified and certified in paragraph (2). All federal financial participation received by the department for the certified public expenditures identified in paragraph (2) shall be paid to the designated public hospital, or a governmental entity with which it is affiliated.

(4) To the extent that the supplemental reimbursement received under this subdivision relates to services provided to hospital inpatients, the reimbursement shall be applied in determining whether the designated public hospital has received full baseline payments for purposes of paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 14166.21.

(5) Supplemental reimbursement under this subdivision may be distributed as part of the interim payments under subdivision (b), on a per-visit basis, on a per-procedure basis, or on any other federally permissible basis.

(6) The department shall submit for federal approval, by September 30, 2005, a proposed amendment to the Medi-Cal state plan to implement this subdivision, retroactive to July 1, 2005, to the extent permitted by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If necessary to obtain federal approval, the department may limit the application of this subdivision to costs determined allowable by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. If federal approval is not obtained, this subdivision shall not be implemented.