(a) By October 1, 2019, the Department shall by rule implement a methodology effective for dates of service July 1, 2019 and later to reimburse hospitals for inpatient stays extended beyond medical necessity due to the inability of the Department or the managed care organization in which a recipient is enrolled or the hospital discharge planner to find an appropriate placement after discharge from the hospital. The Department shall evaluate the effectiveness of the current reimbursement rate for inpatient hospital stays beyond medical necessity.

(b) The methodology shall provide reasonable compensation for the services provided attributable to the days of the extended stay for which the prevailing rate methodology provides no reimbursement. The Department may use a day outlier program to satisfy this requirement. The reimbursement rate shall be set at a level so as not to act as an incentive to avoid transfer to the appropriate level of care needed or placement, after discharge.

(c) The Department shall require managed care organizations to adopt this methodology or an alternative methodology that pays at least as much as the Department's adopted methodology unless otherwise mutually agreed upon contractual language is developed by the provider and the managed care organization for a risk-based or innovative payment methodology.

(d) Days beyond medical necessity shall not be eligible for per diem add-on payments under the Medicaid High Volume Adjustment (MHVA) or the Medicaid Percentage Adjustment (MPA) programs.

(e) For services covered by the fee-for-service program, reimbursement under this Section shall only be made for days beyond medical necessity that occur after the hospital has notified the Department of the need for post-discharge placement. For services covered by a managed care organization, hospitals shall notify the appropriate managed care organization of an admission within 24 hours of admission. For every 24-hour period beyond the initial 24 hours after admission that the hospital fails to notify the managed care organization of the admission, reimbursement under this subsection shall be reduced by one day.

(f) The Department of Children and Family Services shall pay for all inpatient stays beginning on the 3rd day a child is in the hospital beyond medical necessity, and the parent or caregiver has denied the child access to the home and has refused or failed to make provisions for another living arrangement for the child or the child's discharge is being delayed due to a pending inquiry or investigation by the Department of Children and Family Services.

(Source: P.A. 102-4, eff. 4-27-21; 103-593, eff. 6-7-24.)