To meet legislative requirements, the medicaid agency includes a "hold harmless" provision for eligible hospitals participating in certified public expenditure (CPE) payment programs under WAC 182-550-4650 and 182-550-5400. Under the provision and subject to legislative directives and appropriations, hospitals eligible for payments under CPE payment programs will receive no less in combined state and federal payments than they would have received under the methodologies otherwise in effect as described in this section. All hospital submissions pertaining to CPE payment programs((,)) including, but not limited to, cost report schedules, are subject to audit at any time by the agency or its designee.

(1) The agency:

(a) Uses historical cost and payment data trended forward to calculate prospective hold harmless grant payment amounts for the current state fiscal year (SFY); and

(b) Reconciles these hold harmless grant payment amounts when the actual claims data are available for the current fiscal year.

(2) For SFYs 2006 through 2009, the agency calculates what the hospital would have been paid under the methodologies otherwise in effect for the SFY as the sum of:

(a) The total payments for inpatient claims for patients admitted during the fiscal year, calculated by repricing the claims using:

(i) For SFYs 2006 and 2007, the inpatient payment method in effect during SFY 2005; or

(ii) For SFYs 2008 and 2009, the payment method that would otherwise be in effect during the CPE payment program year if the CPE payment program had not been enacted.

(b) The total net disproportionate share hospital and state grant payments paid for SFY 2005.

(3) For SFY 2010 and beyond, the agency calculates what the hospital would have been paid under the methodologies otherwise in effect for the SFY as the sum of:

(a) The total of the inpatient claim payment amounts that would have been paid during the SFY had the hospital not been in the CPE payment program;

(b) One-half of the indigent assistance disproportionate share hospital payment amounts paid to and retained by each hospital during SFY 2005; and

(c) All of the other disproportionate share hospital payment amounts paid to and retained by each hospital during SFY 2005 to the extent the same disproportionate share hospital programs exist in the 2009-2011 biennium.

(4) For each SFY, the agency determines total state and federal payments made under the programs, including:

(a) Inpatient claim payments;

(b) Disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments; ((and))

(c) Supplemental upper payment limit payments, as applicable; and

(d) The federal portion of medicaid program supplemental payments received by the hospitals.

(5) A hospital may receive a hold harmless grant, subject to legislative directives and appropriations, when the following calculation results in a positive number:

(a) For SFY 2006 through SFY 2009, the amount derived in subsection (4) of this section is subtracted from the amount derived in subsection (2) of this section; or

(b) For SFY 2010 and beyond, the amount derived in subsection (4) of this section is subtracted from the amount derived in subsection (3) of this section.

(6) The agency calculates interim hold harmless and final hold harmless grant amounts as follows:

(a) An interim hold harmless grant amount is calculated approximately ten months after the end of the SFY to include the paid claims for the same SFY admissions. Claims are subject to utilization review prior to the interim hold harmless calculation. Prospective grant payments made under subsection (1) of this section are deducted from the calculated interim hold harmless grant amount to determine the net grant payment amount due to or due from the hospital.

(b) The final hold harmless grant amount is calculated at such time as the final allowable federal portions of program payments are determined. The procedure is the same as the interim grant calculation, but it includes all additional claims that have been paid or adjusted since the interim hold harmless calculation. Claims are subject to utilization review and audit prior to the final calculation of the hold harmless amount. Interim grant payments determined under (a) of this subsection are deducted from this final calculation to determine the net final hold harmless amount due to or due from the hospital.