Bill > SB218

This bill requires the Department for Medicaid Services to seek approval from the United States Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish a state-directed payment program, which allows for enhanced payments to qualifying hospitals for physician and nonphysician professional services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries. These enhanced payments would be made by Medicaid managed care organizations, which are private companies that manage healthcare services for Medicaid recipients, and would be based on the equivalent Medicare rate for services. The bill also mandates that if federal approval is granted with a retroactive effective date of January 1, 2026, the Department for Medicaid Services must direct these managed care organizations to issue these enhanced payments back to that date for services already rendered. This program is intended to improve the quality of and access to care for Medicaid recipients in Kentucky and is separate from existing payment programs.

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/sb218.html