House Bill 656 - Idaho Hospital Assessment Act

• Creates a dedicated hospital assessment fund administered by the Department of Health and Welfare to collect assessments from private hospitals and secure federal matching funds under upper payment limit and disproportionate share hospital programs.

• Establishes annual assessment requirements on private in-state hospitals for fiscal years 2009-2011 based on net patient revenue, with a maximum assessment cap of 2.5% of the assessment base.

• Fund distributions limited to hospital medicaid payments, administrative expenses, federal repayment obligations, and state trustee and benefit fund maintenance, and prohibits replacing legislature-appropriated medicaid funding.

• Provides inpatient and outpatient adjustment payment formulas based on upper payment limit gaps divided by medicaid days/reimbursement from calendar year 2007, with adjustments for subsequent fiscal years using rolling yearly medicare cost report data.

• Includes sunset provision making Section 8 (legislative intent freeze exemption) void after July 1, 2012, while Sections 6-7 (new hospital assessment provisions) become effective July 1, 2012.