Z-1353.1 _______________________________________________
HOUSE BILL 2552
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State of Washington 53rd Legislature 1994 Regular Session
By Representative Sommers; by request of Department of Social and Health Services
Read first time 01/17/94. Referred to Committee on Appropriations.
AN ACT Relating to nursing home reimbursement rate setting; and amending RCW 74.46.420.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 74.46.420 and 1993 sp.s. c 13 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:
The following principles are inherent in RCW 74.46.430 through 74.46.590:
(1) Reimbursement rates will be set prospectively on a per patient day basis on a two-year cycle corresponding to each state biennium; and
(2) The rates, in the nursing services, food, administrative, and operational cost centers, shall be adjusted downward or upward when set effective July 1 of the first fiscal year of the two-year rate-setting cycle and, except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, adjusted again downward or upward effective July 1 of the second fiscal year of the rate-setting cycle for economic trends and conditions.
(3) The July 1 rates for the first year of each biennium shall be adjusted by the change in the implicit price deflator for personal consumption expenditures index published by the bureau of labor statistics of the United States department of labor. The period used to measure the increase or decrease to be applied to these first year biennial rates shall be the calendar year preceding the July 1 commencement of the state biennium.
(4) Except as provided in subsection (6) of this section, the July 1 rates for the second year of each biennium shall be adjusted by the change in the nursing home input price index without capital costs published by the health care financing administration of the department of health and human services, HCFA index, however, any increase shall be multiplied by one and one-half. The period used to measure the HCFA index increase to be multiplied by one and one-half and applied or decrease to be applied to these second-year biennial rates shall also be the calendar year preceding the July 1 commencement of the state biennium: PROVIDED, However, That in the event the change in the HCFA index measured over the following calendar year, the one terminating six months after the start of the state biennium, is twenty-five percent greater or less than the change in the HCFA index measured over the calendar year preceding commencement of the state biennium, the department shall use the HCFA index increase multiplied by one and one-half or decrease in such following calendar year to inflate or decrease nursing facilities' nursing services, food, administrative, and operational rates for July 1 of the second biennial year.
(5) If either the implicit price deflator index or the health care financing administration index ceases to be published in the future, the department shall select by rule and use in their place one or more measures of change from an alternate source or sources for the same or comparable time periods.
(6) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the department may not adjust downward or upward for economic trends and conditions nursing facilities' rates in the nursing services, food, administrative, and operational cost centers for the July 1, 1994, through June 30, 1995, prospective rate period. For all other prospective rate periods corresponding to the second fiscal year of each state biennium, beginning with July 1, 1996 rates, nursing facilities' rates in the nursing services, food, administrative, and operational cost centers shall be adjusted downward or upward for economic trends and conditions as authorized in subsections (2) and (4) of this section.
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