HHSC: Uncompensated Care Rule – Public Hearing

Hearing [here]. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) conducted a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed amendments to §355.8201, concerning Waiver Payments to Hospitals for Uncompensated Care. The proposed amendments to §355.8201 were published in the September 21, 2018 issue of the Texas Register (43 TexReg 6043).[1] Purpose. The purpose of the amendment is to alter the final payment methodology for the Uncompensated Care (UC) program in demonstration years 7 and 8. Since 2012, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission has operated the UC pool under the authority of a federally approved 1115 demonstration waiver. This pool of limited funds is a vital resource to hundreds of hospitals throughout Texas for provision of uncompensated care. Historically, HHSC provided preferential treatment to rural hospitals in the UC program by providing that a rural hospital will receive a UC payment equal to a particular amount of that hospital's eligible uncomp