H-0627.1/91 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 1226
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 52nd Legislature 1991 Regular Session
By Representatives Prentice, Wood, Franklin, Braddock, May, Brekke, Leonard, Belcher, Day, Brough, R. Meyers, Morris, Pruitt, Silver, D. Sommers, Dellwo, Jones, Riley, Scott, Sheldon, Phillips, Orr, Basich, Ogden and Cantwell.
Read first time January 23, 1991. Referred to Committee on Health Care\Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to nursing homes; amending RCW 74.46.620; and adding a new section to chapter 74.42 RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 74.42 RCW to read as follows:
Each time a medicaid recipient is discharged from a medicaid provider's facility for the purpose of hospitalization, the provider shall hold open the recipient's bed for the recipient for a minimum of five days immediately following the day of discharge and shall not deny the recipient readmission and placement in the same bed vacated if sought during such five-day period following the day of discharge.
Sec. 2. RCW 74.46.620 and 1980 c 177 s 62 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department will reimburse a contractor for service rendered under the facility contract and billed in accordance with RCW 74.46.610.
(2) The amount paid will be computed using the appropriate rates assigned to the contractor, subject to the provisions of subsection (4) of this section.
(3) For each recipient, the department will pay an amount equal to the appropriate rates, multiplied by the number of patient days each rate was in effect, less the amount the recipient is required to pay for his or her care as set forth by RCW 74.46.630.
(4) If a recipient is discharged from the contractor's facility for the purpose of temporary hospitalization, the department shall reimburse at the facility-assigned rate, minus the amount the recipient is required to pay, for each day the recipient's bed is held vacant, for a maximum of six days, including the day of discharge. There shall be no reimbursement for a bed held vacant for a recipient unless:
(a) The recipient's facility had a minimum average occupancy rate of at least ninety-five percent, including hospitalized residents for whom beds were held vacant, during the calendar month immediately preceding the month of discharge; and
(b) The recipient is in fact readmitted to the facility to the same bed directly.