Compilation of Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia › Department 350 - DEPARTMENT OF MEDICAL ASSISTANCE › Chapter 350-7 - INDIGENT CARE TRUST FUND - NURSING HOME PROVIDER FEE › Rule 350-7-.02 - Payments to the Segregated Account

Current through Rules and Regulations filed through June 27, 2024
(1) There is established within the Indigent Care Trust Fund a
				segregated account for revenues raised through imposition of the provider fee.
				All revenues raised through the nursing home provider fees shall be credited to
				the segregated account. All said revenues raised shall be dedicated and used
				for the sole purpose of obtaining federal financial participation for medical
				assistance payments to nursing homes that disproportionately serve the
				medically indigent. Payments to the segregated nursing home provider fee
				account shall be made by any nursing home required to do so pursuant to
				O.C.G.A. Section  31-8-164. Such payments to the segregated account shall be
				irrevocable and shall not include any limitation upon use of such contributions
				except as permitted in this article or by the Department. Payments shall only
				be used for the purposes contained in O.C.G.A. Section  31-8-165. Contributions
				and transfers to the Indigent Care Trust Fund pursuant to O.C.G.A. Section
				  31-8-153 and   31-8-153.1 shall not be deposited into the segregated
				account.
(2) Each nursing home shall be assessed a provider fee with
				respect to each patient day for the preceding quarter, excluding Medicare
				program patient days. The provider fee shall be assessed uniformly upon all
				nursing homes except with respect to the waiver to be applied for pursuant to
				O.C.G.A. Section  31-8-168. The aggregate provider fees imposed shall not exceed
				the maximum amount that may be assessed pursuant to the 6 percent indirect
				guarantee threshold set forth in  42 C.F.R. Section 433.68(f)(3)(i). Such
				provider fee payments may be deposited to the segregated account by means of
				electronic funds transfer, when pre-authorized by the Department.
(3) The provider fee shall be paid quarterly by each nursing
				home to the Department. A nursing home shall calculate and report the provider
				fee due upon a form prepared and distributed by the Department. The payments
				shall be submitted no later than the thirtieth day following the end of each
				calendar quarter. The initial provider fee report shall be filed and the
				initial provider fee payment shall be submitted no later than July 30, 2003.
				The initial provider fee payment for July 30, 2003 shall be calculated using
				the patient day information for the calendar quarter ending June 30,
				2003.
(4) Each nursing home shall keep and preserve for a period of
				three years such books and records as may be necessary to determine the amount
				for which it is liable for a provider fee pursuant to these rules. The
				Department shall have the authority to inspect and copy the records of a
				nursing home for purposes of auditing the calculation of the provider fee. All
				information obtained by the Department for this purpose shall be confidential
				and shall not constitute a public record.
(5) In the event the Department determines that a nursing home
				has underpaid or overpaid the provider fee, the Department shall notify the
				nursing home of the balance of the provider fee or refund that is due. Such
				payment or refund shall be due within 30 days of the Department's notice to the
				nursing home.
(6) Any nursing home that fails to pay the provider fee
				pursuant to these rules within the time periods specified by these rules shall
				pay, in addition to the outstanding provider fee, a 6 percent penalty for each
				month or fraction thereof that the payment is overdue. If a provider fee has
				not been received by the Department by the last day of the month, the
				Department shall withhold an amount equal to the provider fee and penalty owed
				from any Medicaid payment due the nursing home in question. The provider fee
				levied by this article shall constitute a debt due the state and may be
				collected by civil action and the filing of tax liens in addition to such
				methods provided for by these rules. Any penalty that accrues as a result of
				late payments shall be credited to the segregated account.
O.C.G.A. Sec.
				  31-8-5.