The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part of the
legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SB 146 Original 2018 Regular Session Mills
Proposed law establishes an enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rate for hospitals that triage
Medicaid patients presenting at the hospital emergency department to a hospital urgent care clinic
when such transition is appropriate. Proposed law provides for an attestation by the hospital of the
percentage of emergency department volume that was successfully transitioned to the urgent care
clinic.
Proposed law provides for a graduated benchmark over the course of three years where a hospital
could earn enhanced reimbursement in the amount of 30% for each year of achieving the benchmark
reductions in volume.
Proposed law provides that hospitals that advertise wait times or allow for advance appointment
scheduling for emergency department visits and hospitals that do not predominantly treat Medicaid
recipients in their urgent care clinic are not eligible for the enhanced reimbursement rate.
Proposed law provides that funding for the enhanced rate comes in part from the savings achieved
by paying for fewer costly emergency department visits.
Proposed law authorizes LDH to promulgate rules to implement proposed law.
Effective August 1, 2018.
(Adds R.S. 40:1248)