(1) For purposes of eligibility for disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments, a change in hospital ownership has occurred if any of the criteria in WAC 182-550-4200(1) is met.

(2) To be considered eligible for DSH, a hospital whose ownership has changed must notify the medicaid agency in writing no later than thirty days after the change in ownership becomes final. The notice must include the new entity's fiscal year end.

(3) A hospital that did not offer nonemergency obstetric services to the general public as of December 22, 1987, when section 1923 of the Social Security Act was enacted, and changes ownership after that date is not eligible for DSH unless it continues to be classified as an acute care hospital serving pediatric and/or adult patients. See WAC 182-550-4900(5) for the obstetric services and utilization rate requirements for DSH eligibility.

(4) If the fiscal year reported on a hospital's medicare cost report does not exactly match the fiscal year reported on the hospital's DSH application to the agency, and if therefore the utilization data reported to the agency do not agree, the agency will use as the data source the document that gives the higher number of total inpatient hospital days for purposes of calculating the hospital's medicaid inpatient utilization rate (MIPUR). See WAC 182-550-4900 (6)(b).