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Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Showing 41 to 47 of 47 results

When a state pays a provider at cost during the period covered by the Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstration, how should the provider's data be treated?

The UPL limits payment to the Medicare rate or cost. Providers paid at cost may receive no more than their reconciled amount. As a result, states cannot attribute the "UPL room" from other providers to pay additional amounts to any provider paid at cost. Due to this payment limitation, states should not include any provider paid at cost in their UPL demonstrations; however, they must account for these providers. Specifically, states must include with their UPL submissions documentation of those providers paid at cost and, therefore, excluded from the calculation of the UPL.

FAQ ID:92396

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Can the Outpatient Hospital (OPH) Services Upper Payment Limit (UPL) demonstration consider Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory (CDL) services?

Section 1903(i)(7) of the Social Security Act specifies a separate UPL for CDL services which limits payment to no more than the Medicare rate on a per test basis. To meet the statutory provision, the UPL for CDL services must be separately demonstrated from the OPH services UPL. States do not have the ability to "borrow room" from the CDL UPL and apply it to the OPH UPL.

FAQ ID:92401

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May a state use all-payer data or the Medicare-specific data from the Medicare Hospital Cost Report (CMS Form 2552) to calculate the cost-to-charge ratios?

Yes, a state may choose between using all-payer data or Medicare-specific data from the Medicare Hospital Cost Report (CMS Form 2552) to determine the cost-to-charge ratios.

FAQ ID:92406

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Can CMS provide a list of the revenue codes that are approved to be included in the outpatient hospital Upper Payment Limit (UPL) or conversely the revenue codes that cannot be included?

To date, CMS has not published a list of revenue codes that must be included or excluded from this service category.  Medicaid outpatient hospital services are defined at 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 440.20 and include “preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, or palliative services”.  In the state plan, states further define those services covered as outpatient hospital services.

FAQ ID:92411

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How is the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Upper Payment Limit (UPL) different from other institutional UPLs?

Unlike the UPLs for other Medicaid institutional payments, which rely on an aggregate approach by ownership category (private, state owned, non state government owned) to ensure Medicaid payments are consistent with efficiency and economy, the PRTF UPL is calculated for each facility. Specifically, the UPL relies on 42 CFR 447.325 which states that Medicaid agencies “may pay the customary charges of the provider but must not pay more than the prevailing charges in the locality for comparable services under comparable circumstances." The plain language meaning of this requirement is that a state may pay a PRTF no more than it charges for covered Medicaid services provided to Medicaid recipients.

FAQ ID:92416

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Is the state required to report in the Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) Upper Payment Limit (UPL) template the number of service days for Medicaid beneficiaries?

Yes, the state is required to report the number of Medicaid days. This information is recorded at variable 310 – Medicaid days.

FAQ ID:92421

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How should a state report Upper Payment Limit (UPL) data for out of state providers?

The UPL data for out of state providers does not need to be included in the UPL demonstration. If the state has provider level data then it may include it in the demonstration within the private ownership category of providers.

FAQ ID:92426

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