S-3867               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6132

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senators Deccio and Johnson

Read first time 1/12/88 and referred to Committee on Health Care & Corrections.

AN ACT Relating to rural hospital payment; and adding new sections to chapter 74.09 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 74.09 RCW to read as follows:

          Effective for all claims paid after January 1, 1989, the department of social and health services shall ensure that payments to each rural hospital, as defined in section 2 of this act, fully cover the cost of providing services to persons entitled to coverage through any of the department's medical assistance programs.  Incurred cost of treatment shall be determined from the hospital and hospital health care complex cost report, commonly referred to as the medicare cost report.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 74.09 RCW to read as follows:

          "Rural hospital" means a hospital licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW:

          (1) In an area that is not within a twenty-mile radius of an urban area exceeding thirty thousand people; or

          (2) That is not in Bellingham, Aberdeen-Hoquiam, Longview-Kelso, Wenatchee, Yakima, Sunnyside, Richland-Pasco-Kennewick, or Walla Walla; or

          (3) That elects to be considered rural if (a) the hospital is located in a class one through nine county, (b) the hospital is located in a city or town having fewer than twenty-five thousand people, (c) the hospital has fewer than one hundred acute care beds, and (d) the total annual hospital revenues are less than ten million dollars.