Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Finance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Panel backs 10‑day delay for hospital supplemental Medicaid payments to allow accurate processing
Summary
The committee concurred with House Bill 474 to extend the deadline for DPHHS to provide hospital supplemental Medicaid payments by 10 days; agency witnesses said supplemental payments rose from roughly $60 million to $400 million annually and that the statewide accounting system's daily payout limit constrains timely processing.
Representative Jane Gillette presented House Bill 474, which moves the date by 10 days for the Department of Public Health and Human Services to provide supplemental Medicaid payments to hospitals. Gillette said there is no fiscal impact from the timing change and that the extra time will allow the department to validate and distribute payments accurately.
Don Holmlund, hospital and physician services bureau chief at DPHHS, testified that supplemental payments have grown from about $60 million to roughly $400 million annually since the May 2019 deadline was implemented and that the statewide accounting system 'Savers' imposes a payout threshold (about $99.9 million per day), which reduces the department’s ability to finish calculation and validation under the current timetable. Gene Hermanson (Medicaid Financial Manager) echoed the need for additional processing time.
The committee approved HB474 by voice vote during executive action and designated a carrier for the Senate.
