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Senate Finance advances HCR 2 to authorize hospital assessment for Medicaid reimbursements
Summary
The committee reported HCR 2 favorably; the resolution authorizes LDH to levy a hospital assessment benchmarked to Medicare cost report revenue to support hospital reimbursements and Medicaid directed payments, with exclusions for small and certain psychiatric hospitals.
The Senate Finance Committee reported House Concurrent Resolution 2 favorably after a presentation describing the resolution as an annual mechanism to support hospital reimbursements and Medicaid payments.
A presenter told the committee HCR 2 authorizes the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH) to levy and collect an assessment on certain hospitals at varying rates. The resolution benchmarks assessments against net patient revenue reported on hospitals’ Medicare cost reports for the federal fiscal year ending 2023 and adjusts assessment rates for participating hospitals. The presenter described the assessment generating an estimated $648.2 million in fiscal 2026 and said assessment rates would range from 1.38% to 6.74% of net patient revenue depending on hospital type and revenue.
The presenter said specific hospital categories are excluded from the assessment, including certain acute care hospitals with 40 beds or fewer and freestanding psychiatric disproportionate share hospitals. The resolution also authorizes LDH to develop a new assessment structure and hospital directed payment methodology for submission to CMS if the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services do not approve the proposed structure, subject to approval by the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget.
Committee staff stated the finance committee had no committee amendments. A motion to accept HCR 2 was made and carried; the resolution will be reported favorable to the full Senate.
The transcript records the presenter describing the assessment methodology and the committee’s motion to report HCR 2 favorably; no roll‑call or recorded dissent appears in the committee record.
