Frequently Asked Questions are used to provide additional information and/or statutory guidance not found in State Medicaid Director Letters, State Health Official Letters, or CMCS Informational Bulletins. The different sets of FAQs as originally released can be accessed below.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does CMS require states to submit their 2019 Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations using the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved templates for Inpatient Hospital services (IPH), Outpatient Hospital services (OPH), and Nursing Facility services (NF) UPLs?
Yes, CMS requires states to use all of the OMB approved templates for their 2019 (07/01/2018 to 06/30/2019) UPL demonstrations submitted to meet the annual UPL reporting requirement and with State Plan Amendment (SPA) submissions. When submitting UPL demonstrations, use the following naming convention: UPL_<UPL Demo Date Range>_<Service Type Abbreviation>_R<Region Number>_<State Abbreviation>_<Workbook Number>.xls. Here is an example of the naming convention: UPL_20170701-20180630_IP_R01_CT_01.xls.
FAQ ID:92196
SHARE URLCan a contractor that acts on behalf of the Medicaid agency submit the Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations to CMS?
No, the information must be submitted by the State Medicaid Director (or designated state official).
FAQ ID:92246
SHARE URLNow that Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstrations are submitted to a central e-mailbox, will the CMS Regional Office still have a role in reviewing UPL demonstrations or will the review be performed by the Central Office?
The Regional Office will continue to review state UPL demonstrations and states will continue to work with the CMS Regional Offices as a first point of contact concerning their UPL demonstrations.
FAQ ID:92256
SHARE URLOur state uses multiple cost centers (routine and ancillary) in the calculation of our inpatient hospital Upper Payment Limit (UPL). Do the templates permit the use of multiple cost centers?
Yes, the templates allow the use of multiple cost centers. For example, if the state uses a cost methodology for ancillary services and a per-diem methodology for routine services, the state will complete one cost template and one per-diem template in order to account for these two cost centers. Every hospital would be featured in each of the two templates; however, to differentiate their provider information, the state would append the Medicare Certification Number (Medicare ID) (variable 112) with a letter, such as an -A or a -B. For example, if the Medicare ID was 123456, it would be depicted in the cost template as 123456-A and in the per diem template as 123456-B. If a Medicare Certification Number is not available then the state should append the Medicaid Provider Number. If there are multiple cost centers under either the cost or per-diem methodology, the state would separate out the cost centers within their respective templates. Each cost center should be associated with only one appended letter and these should be described in the notes tab. When using multiple cost centers, the state should insert a new tab in the templates that summarizes the UPL gap calculations for each of the ownership categories (state government owned, non-state government owned, and private), unless a summary worksheet is already included in the workbook.
FAQ ID:92261
SHARE URLOur state uses multiple cost centers with varying cost-to-charge ratios in our calculation of the inpatient hospital Upper Payment Limit (UPL). Does the template accommodate this?
Yes, the template allows the use of multiple cost centers with multiple cost-to-charge ratios. The state would separately report the costs and payments associated with each of the cost centers in the cost template. To differentiate the cost centers, the state would append the Medicare Certification Number (Medicare ID) (variable 112) with a letter, for example an -A, -B, or -C, that would be used as a unique identifier for each cost center.
FAQ ID:92266
SHARE URLOur state uses multiple methodologies for the three ownership categories in the calculation of our inpatient hospital Upper Payment Limit (UPL). Do the templates permit the use of multiple methodologies?
Yes, the templates allow the use of multiple methodologies. The state would complete the templates associated with the UPL methodologies used. For example, if the state uses a cost-based methodology for state owned hospitals and a payment-based methodology for private hospitals, then the state would complete the cost template for the state owned hospitals and the payment template for the private hospitals. When using multiple methodologies, the state should insert a new tab in the templates that summarizes the UPL gap calculations for each of the ownership categories (state government owned, non-state government owned, and private), unless a summary worksheet is already included in the workbook.
FAQ ID:92271
SHARE URLOne of the required fields in the Nursing Facility template is the Medicare Provider Number (Medicare Certification Number - Variable 112), but not all facilities are Medicare certified. How should data be entered for these facilities since it is a required field?
When a Medicare provider number is not available, such as for some nursing facilities, the state should populate variable 112 using the acronym NMC, which stands for "Not Medicare Certified". Adding this information will help to clearly identify the facility's status.
FAQ ID:92286
SHARE URLHow should Upper Payment Limit (UPL) supplemental payments be entered in the template?
The state should report the expected amount of supplemental payments to be made during the period covered by the UPL demonstration. Supplemental payments should be entered into variables 303.1, 303.2, and 303.3 for the Inpatient Hospital and Outpatient Hospital templates and 313.1, 313.2, and 313.3 for the Nursing Facility templates. The state should provide detail in the notes tab on the types of supplemental payments and the related dollar amount of each payment.
FAQ ID:92291
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