Section 291. Payment for indirect medical education costs

A. Hospitals shall be eligible to receive payments for indirect medical education (IME). Out-of-state cost reporting hospitals are eligible for this payment only if they have Virginia Medicaid utilization in the base year of at least 12% of total Medicaid days. These payments recognize the increased use of ancillary services associated with the educational process and the higher case-mix intensity of teaching hospitals. The payments for indirect medical education shall be made in estimated quarterly lump sum amounts and settled at the hospital's fiscal year end.

B. Final payment for IME shall be determined as follows:

1. Type One hospitals shall receive an IME payment equal to the hospital's Medicaid operating reimbursement times an IME percentage determined as follows:

IME Percentage for Type One Hospitals = [1.89 X ((1 + r)^0.405-1)] X (IME Factor)

An IME factor shall be calculated for each Type One hospital and shall equal a factor that, when used in the calculation of the IME percentage, shall cause the resulting IME payments to equal what the IME payments would be with an IME factor of one, plus an amount equal to the difference between operating payments using the adjustment factor specified in subdivision B 1 of 12VAC30-70-331 and operating payments using an adjustment factor of one in place of the adjustment factor specified in subdivision B 1 of 12VAC30-70-331.

2. Type Two hospitals shall receive an IME payment equal to the hospital's Medicaid operating reimbursement times an IME percentage determined as follows:

IME Percentage for Type Two Hospitals = [1.89 X ((1 + r)^0.405-1)] X 0.5695

In both equations, r is the ratio of full-time equivalent residents to staffed beds, excluding nursery beds. The IME payment shall be calculated each year using the most recent reliable data regarding the number of full-time equivalent residents and the number of staffed beds, excluding nursery beds.

C. An additional IME payment shall be made for inpatient hospital services provided to Medicaid patients but reimbursed by capitated managed care providers.

1. For Type Two hospitals, this payment shall be equal to the hospital's hospital specific operating rate per case, as determined in 12VAC30-70-311, times the hospital's HMO paid discharges times the hospital's IME percentage, as determined in subsection B of this section.

2. For Type One hospitals, this payment shall be equal to the hospital's hospital-specific operating rate per case, as determined in 12VAC30-70-311, times the hospital's HMO paid discharges times the hospital's IME percentage, as determined in subsection B of this section. Effective April 1, 2012, the operating rate per case used in the formula shall be revised to reflect an adjustment factor of one and case-mix adjusted by multiplying the operating rate per case in this subsection by the weight per case for FFS discharges that is determined during rebasing.

D. An additional IME payment not to exceed $200,000 in total shall be apportioned among Type Two hospitals, excluding freestanding children's hospitals, with Medicaid NICU utilization in excess of 50% as reported to the Department of Medical Assistance Services as of March 1, 2004. These payments shall be apportioned based on each eligible hospital's percentage of Medicaid NICU patient days relative to the total of these days among eligible hospitals as reported by March 1, 2004.

E. An additional IME payment not to exceed $500,000 in total shall be apportioned among Type Two hospitals, excluding freestanding children's hospitals, with Medicaid NICU days in excess of 4,500 as reported to the Department of Medical Assistance Services as of March 1, 2005, that do not otherwise receive an additional IME payment under subsection D of this section. These payments shall be apportioned based on each eligible hospital's percentage of Medicaid NICU patient days relative to the total of these days among eligible hospitals as reported by March 1, 2003.

F. Effective July 1, 2013, DMAS shall calculate an IME factor for Virginia freestanding children's hospitals with greater than 50% Medicaid utilization in 2009. Total payments for IME in combination with other payments for freestanding children's hospitals with greater than 50% Medicaid utilization in 2009 shall not exceed the federal uncompensated care cost limit to which disproportionate share hospital payments are subject.

Historical Notes

Derived from Volume 16, Issue 18, eff. July 1, 2000; amended, Virginia Register Volume 20, Issue 22, eff. August 11, 2004; Volume 21, Issue 23, eff. September 1, 2005; Volume 22, Issue 23, eff. August 23, 2006; Volume 26, Issue 19, eff. July 1, 2010; Volume 27, Issue 19, eff. July 1, 2011; Volume 30, Issue 19, eff. June 18, 2014; Volume 31, Issue 09, eff. February 13, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 32.1-325 of the Code of Virginia.