(1) For services provided during the period beginning January 1, 2001, and ending December 31, 2008, the medicaid agency's payment methodology for federally qualified health centers (FQHC) was a prospective payment system (PPS) as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1396a (bb)(2) and (3).

(2) For services provided beginning January 1, 2009, FQHCs have the choice to be reimbursed under the PPS or to be reimbursed under an alternative payment methodology (APM), as authorized by 42 U.S.C. 1396a (bb)(6). As required by 42 U.S.C. 1396a (bb)(6), payments made under the APM will be at least as much as payments that would have been made under the PPS.

(3) The agency calculates FQHC PPS encounter rates as follows:

(a) Until an FQHC's first audited medicaid cost report is available, the agency pays an average encounter rate of other similar FQHCs within the state, otherwise known as an interim rate.

(b) Upon availability of the FQHC's first audited medicaid cost report, the agency sets FQHC encounter rates at one hundred percent of its total reasonable costs as defined in the cost report. FQHCs receive this rate for the remainder of the calendar year during which the audited cost report became available. The encounter rate is then increased each January 1st by the percent change in the medicare economic index (MEI).

(4) For FQHCs in existence during calendar years 1999 and 2000, the agency sets encounter rates prospectively using a weighted average of one hundred percent of the FQHC's total reasonable costs for calendar years 1999 and 2000 and adjusted for any increase or decrease in the scope of services furnished during the calendar year 2001 to establish a base encounter rate.

(a) The agency adjusts PPS base encounter rates to account for an increase or decrease in the scope of services provided during calendar year 2001 in accordance with WAC 182-548-1500.

(b) PPS base encounter rates are determined using audited cost reports, and each year's rate is weighted by the total reported encounters. The agency does not apply a capped amount to these base encounter rates. The formula used to calculate base encounter rates is as follows:

Specific FQHC Base Encounter Rate	=	(Year 1999 Rate x Year 1999 Encounters) + (Year 2000 Rate x Year 2000 Encounters)
		(Year 1999 Encounters + Year 2000 Encounters) for each FQHC

(c) Beginning in calendar year 2002 and any year thereafter, encounter rates are increased by the MEI for primary care services, and adjusted for any increase or decrease in the FQHC's scope of services.

(5) The agency calculates the FQHC's APM encounter rate for services provided during the period beginning January 1, 2009, and ending April 6, 2011, as follows:

(a) The APM utilizes the FQHC base encounter rates, as described in subsection (4)(b) of this section.

(b) Base rates are adjusted to reflect any approved changes in scope of service in calendar years 2002 through 2009.

(c) The adjusted base rates are then increased by each annual percentage, from calendar years 2002 through 2009, of the IHS Global Insight index, also called the APM index. The result is the year 2009 APM rate for each FQHC that chooses to be reimbursed under the APM.

(6) This subsection describes the encounter rates that the agency pays FQHCs for services provided during the period beginning April 7, 2011, and ending June 30, 2011. On January 12, 2012, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved a state plan amendment (SPA) containing the methodology outlined in this section.

(a) During the period that CMS approval of the SPA was pending, the agency continued to pay FQHCs at the encounter rates described in subsection (5) of this section.

(b) Each FQHC has the choice of receiving either its PPS rate, as determined under the method described in subsection (3) of this section, or a rate determined under a revised APM, as described in (c) of this subsection.

(d) For all payments made for services provided during the period beginning April 7, 2011, and ending June 30, 2011, the agency will recoup from FQHCs any amount in excess of the encounter rate established in this section. This process is specified in emergency rules that took effect on October 29, 2011, (WSR 11-22-047) and February 25, 2012 (WSR 12-06-002).

(7) This subsection describes the encounter rates that the agency pays FQHCs for services provided on and after July 1, 2011. On January 12, 2012, CMS approved a SPA containing the methodology outlined in this section.

(a) Each FQHC has the choice of receiving either its PPS rate as determined under the method described in subsection (3) of this section, or a rate determined under a revised APM, as described in (b) of this subsection.

(b) The revised APM is as follows:

(i) For FQHCs that rebased their rate effective January 1, 2010, the revised APM is their allowed cost per visit during the cost report year increased by the cumulative percentage increase in the MEI between the cost report year and January 1, 2011.

(ii) For FQHCs that did not rebase their rate effective January 1, 2010, the revised APM is based on their PPS base rate from 2001 (or subsequent year for FQHCs receiving their initial FQHC designation after 2002) increased by the cumulative percentage increase in the IHS Global Insight index from the base year through calendar year 2008 and by the cumulative percentage increase in the MEI from calendar years 2009 through 2011. The rates were increased by the MEI effective January 1, 2012, and will be increased by the MEI each January 1st thereafter.

(c) For all payments made for services provided during the period beginning July 1, 2011, and ending January 11, 2012, the agency will recoup from FQHCs any amount paid in excess of the encounter rate established in this section. This process is specified in emergency rules that took effect on October 29, 2011, (WSR 11-22-047) and February 25, 2012 (WSR 12-06-022).

(d) For FQHCs that choose to be paid under the revised APM, the agency will periodically rebase the encounter rates using the FQHC cost reports and other relevant data. Rebasing will be done only for FQHCs that are reimbursed under the APM.

(e) The agency will ensure that the payments made under the APM are at least equal to the payments that would be made under the PPS.

(8) This subsection describes the payment methodology that the agency uses to pay participating FQHCs for services provided beginning July 1, 2017.

(a) Each FQHC may receive payments under the APM described in subsection (7) of this section, or receive payments under the revised APM described in this subsection.

(b) The revised APM is as follows:

(i) The revised APM establishes a budget-neutral, baseline per member per month (PMPM) rate for each FQHC. The PMPM rate accounts for enhancement payments in accordance with the definition of enhancements in WAC 182-548-1100. For the purposes of this section, "budget-neutral" means the cost of the revised APM to the agency will not exceed what would have otherwise been spent not including the revised APM on a per member per year basis.

(ii) The agency pays the FQHC a PMPM payment each month for each managed care client assigned to them by an MCO.

(iii) The agency pays the FQHC a PMPM rate in addition to the amounts the MCO pays the FQHC. The agency may prospectively adjust the FQHC's PMPM rate for any of the following reasons:

(A) Quality and access metrics performance.

(B) FQHC encounter rate changes.

(iv) In accordance with 42 U.S.C. 1396a (bb)(5)(A), the agency performs an annual reconciliation.

(A) If the FQHC was underpaid, the agency pays the difference, and the PMPM rate may be subject to prospective adjustment under (b)(iii) of this subsection.

(B) If the FQHC was overpaid, the PMPM rate may be subject to prospective adjustment under (b)(iii) of this subsection.

PDFWAC 182-548-1400

Federally qualified health centers—Payment methodologies.