HOSPITAL CARE ASSURANCE PROGRAM
The Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP) is the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services' mechanism for meeting the federal requirement to provide additional payments to hospitals
that provide a disproportionate share of uncompensated services to the indigent and uninsured.
The current HCAP program meets the federal
requirement that the assessment rate be uniform across all non-psychiatric
hospital providers and
that at least 10% of the hospitals receive less than their assessed amount in HCAP
funding.
For Federal Fiscal Year 2008 HCAP, the
following structure of assessments and federal funds will be used:
| 2008 Hospital
Assessments |
$210,530,000 |
| 2008 Federal
Share |
$325,507,000 |
| 2008 Total Available HCAP
Funds |
$536,037,000 |
Preliminary 2008 Uncompensated Care
Data:
|
Uncompensated Care costs for uninsured patients with income below
FPL |
$425,144,000 |
|
Uncompensated Care costs for uninsured patients with income above
FPL |
$491,700,000 |
|
Medicaid Shortfall |
$420,894,000 |
| Total
OBRA Cap |
$1,337,738,000 |
NEWS
For more information, please visit our most recent
Frequently Asked Questions about HCAP rules, eligibility, and procedures.
If you have a question about the status of a
pending HCAP application or need to request
an application, please contact the hospital
where you applied or would like to apply for
the program.
10/22/2008::
The
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS) has granted approval to the 2008
Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP)
and the program is now set to be
completed prior to the end of the
calendar year. Ohio hospitals will
receive approximately $325.5 million in
federal funds to help defray the growing
costs of caring for the uninsured and
Medicaid enrollees. The Ohio Department
of Job & Family Services (ODJFS) has set
the following assessment and payment
schedule:
Nov. 7 1st half
assessment due to ODJFS
Nov. 17 1st half
payment sent to hospitals
Nov. 24 2nd half
assessment due
Dec. 4 2nd half
payment sent
ODJFS
will be sending
final assessment notices and
instructions to all participating
hospitals this Friday via certified
mail, so please check next week to make
sure the assessments listed on the
notice match those on the
2008 Final HCAP Model.
10/15/2008::
According to ODJFS, the state plan amendment
that contains this year's HCAP has been
placed in the approval track by CMS.
However, ODJFS must wait until receiving
final approval from CMS before setting an
assessment and payment schedule.
CMS could still take up to two more months
to issue formal approval, but OHA will
continue to work with CMS to urge speedy
approval. OHA will provide members
immediate notice when final approval of this
year's HCAP is granted.
10/2/2008::
Presentation slides
on the HCAP update from today's Medicare &
Medicaid Seminar are now available.
9/18/2008::
ODJFS has responded to a
series of questions posed by CMS regarding
the state plan amendment that includes the
changes to this year's HCAP. CMS
now has a new 90 day window in which to approve or
deny the state plan amendment.
However, OHA will be working with ODJFS to
ensure timely federal approval, so that the
process of collecting assessments and making
distributions to hospitals can begin as soon
as possible. Please check back
periodically for the latest news on HCAP for
this year.
9/3/2008::
Presentation slides for the membership meeting on
September 5th are now available.
8/27/2008::
CMS has yet
to approve of the state plan amendment that
includes the distribution methodology for
HCAP 2008. Due to this, the program
this year will be delayed and most likely
will not begin collecting assessments or
paying hospitals until mid-September.
As soon as
CMS issues its approval of HCAP 2008, OHA
will release the Department's timeline for
assessments and payments, but again, expect
your first assessment installment to not be
due any earlier than September 15th.
Please note, however, that OHA still does
not anticipate significant changes to the
Preliminary 2008 HCAP Model when the
state plan amendment is eventually approved
by CMS.
8/19/2008::
OHA members
will convene Friday, Sept. 5 at the Crowne
Plaza Hotel in Dublin to discuss proposed
changes to the distribution model made by
the OHA HCAP Task Force regarding the 2009
Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP). The
Task Force is seeking feedback from the
membership before finalizing the
recommendations that will be presented to
the OHA Board for approval. The Board will
take action in September on final
recommendations to make to the Ohio
Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS).
Additional information will be available at
the meeting. To register for the meeting,
please complete and return a
registration form.
Directions to the meeting.
8/11/2008::
ODJFS is
still awaiting federal approval of the 2008
HCAP, but at this time, OHA does not
anticipate there will be significant changes
to the preliminary 2008 model before
assessments and payments are collected and
made in the next month. However, the
model will not become "final" until CMS
officially approves this year's program and
ODJFS releases its timeline for assessments
and payments.
In HCAP
2009-related news, please save the date of
September 5th for another membership
meeting. We will announce the time and
location of the meeting shortly, but we
anticipate it will be in the Columbus area.
The meeting will provide an opportunity for
member hospitals to react to the initial
recommendations for HCAP 2009 by the Board's
HCAP Task Force prior to the OHA Board
making final recommendations for changes to
next year's program.
7/15/2008::
The Ohio
General Assembly's Joint Committee on Agency
Rule Review (JCARR)
yesterday approved the rules that will
govern the HCAP assessment and distribution
model for 2008. Only CMS is left to
approve the proposed rules before the
preliminary model can be finalized.
Today,
ODJFS sent
pre-assessment letters to all hospitals,
detailing the amounts each hospital is
expected to pay in assessments this year.
Hospitals should expect to receive their
letter by the end of this week. Please
verify that the data contained in the
pre-assessment letter sent to your hospital
is accurate, and contact the Department if
you find any discrepancies.
6/10/2008::
Presentation slides from today's HCAP
session at the OHA Annual Meeting are now
online.
5/27/2008::
A
preliminary
2008 HCAP Assessment & Distribution Model
is now available. Please note that
this is not the final model, and all numbers
are still subject to change.
Also, for
those who cannot attend tomorrow's HCAP
membership meeting in Columbus,
here
is a copy of the presentation slides.
5/13/2008::
ANNOUNCEMENT: Membership Meeting on HCAP
2009
OHA and its
Hospital Care Assurance Program (HCAP) Task
Force will host a
membership meeting to discuss issues
relating to the 2009 HCAP on Wednesday, May
28 at
Brookside Country Club in Columbus from
10 a.m. to noon. OHA has already received
proposals to change the distribution for
2009, and attendees will be asked to both
comment on these proposals as well as to
offer their own suggestions for changes to
next year’s HCAP model. Attendees will also
be briefed on the status of the 2008 HCAP
distribution.
Member
hospital CEOs and CFOs are urged to attend
the meeting, but only two individuals per
hospital can attend due to space
limitations. Admission is free and a
continental breakfast will be provided, so
please fill out and return a registration
form as soon as possible. If no one
from your hospital is able to attend the
meeting, please forward any comments or
suggestions via email to Ryan Biles and he
will make sure the HCAP Task Force receives
them.
1/23/2008:: The
2008 federal poverty income guidelines
were published in the
federal register
today. Updated annually by the US Dept. of
Health & Human Services, the guidelines are
used in a variety of ways to judge
eligibility for discounted health care
programs, including HCAP. Hospitals should
assess HCAP eligibility based on the income
guidelines in place on the date of service
or admission.
12/20/07::
Last week, both the OHA Finance Committee
and OHA Board of Trustees voted to approve
the final recommendations of OHA's HCAP Task
Force on Principles & Goals for program year
2008. The Task Force recommended two
changes to HCAP for next year, including:
- That for the 2008 program year and
beyond, OHA advocate for the use of
already collected, actual Medicaid
managed care payment data in both OBRA
cap calculations and in the
distribution; and
- That for the 2008 program year and
beyond, OHA advocate for technical
changes to the DSH Limit Pot (Pot 6), to
reflect the total funds available in
HCAP 2008.
The recommendations are the result of a
year-long process of membership meetings and
discussions between the HCAP Task Force and
members of the state administration.
Please check back for updates on the status
of the Task Force recommendations as the new
year progresses.
More
News... |
