Requires the Department of Social and Health Services (“DSHS”) to procure a contractor to conduct an independent analysis of the current system for establishing hospital inpatient payment rates for services provided to the Medicaid population, and to submit recommendations for improvements to the current inpatient hospital reimbursement system. The purpose of this study was to inform State policymakers and lawmakers as they seek to identify and evaluate suitable enhancements to the current system. DSHS awarded a contract to Navigant Consulting, Inc. (“NCI”) in August 2005 to conduct this study. Generally, the scope of this project, which is described in more detail later in this report, was to conduct an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the existing fee-for-service (“FFS”) Washington Medicaid inpatient reimbursement system, conduct a survey of other states’ Medicaid reimbursement systems and make recommendations for potential changes to Washington’s system.
