Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
State hospitals accredited but civil‑commitment costs drive supplemental requests, officials say
Summary
Department of Health and Welfare officials told legislators all three state psychiatric hospitals have achieved accreditation, which enables Medicaid billing, but rising civil‑commitment costs and longer patient stays that exceed federal 60‑day billing limits are driving requests for supplemental general‑fund support.
Alex Leanson (Legislative Services Office) and Department of Health and Welfare Director Alex Adams told the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee that all three state hospitals—State Hospital North (Orofino), State Hospital South (Blackfoot) and State Hospital West (Nampa)—have received accreditation.
Accreditation enables hospitals to bill Medicaid for eligible stays; Adams said State Hospital West had billed $1,600,000 and received $1,300,000 in receipts, which reduced general‑fund need for those patients. But lawmakers heard that longer patient stays are eroding federal billing eligibility: federal rules limit Medicaid billing to stays of 60 days or less for…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
