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
Our 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 URLWhat Dataset Views are available for the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD)?
Per the state drug utilization data table, the "Dataset Views" dropdown selections available are:
- State: State-specific data at the NDC-11 level, for a quarter/year.
- Full Dataset (States + National Totals): A compilation of all the individual state utilization data (50 states plus Washington D.C.) and the National Totals at the NDC-11 level, for a selected year.
- All States: Includes data for all states but does not include the National Totals
- National Totals: Data are aggregated for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. at the NDC-11 level, for a quarter/year.
Since all of the states are combined in the National Totals, the state abbreviation will show on the "Annual State Detail" with a state abbreviation of "XX".
Users can also generate his or her own views of the dataset on data.medicaid.gov.
FAQ ID:91786
SHARE URLWhy am I unable to see all of the data in the dataset/view?
You are likely running into a limitation of the program you are trying to use to analyze the data. Microsoft Excel allows 1,048,576 rows of data and many of our datasets exceed this limit.
We recommend users not use Excel for large datasets but instead use another application that can work with datasets of large size (e.g. Microsoft Access).
FAQ ID:91801
SHARE URLWhy is there a State column labeled XX when viewed as National Totals in the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD)?
Since all of the states are combined in the National Totals, the state abbreviation will show on the "National Totals" and "Annual State Detail" option as "XX".
See Also:
FAQ ID:91811
SHARE URLWhy does some State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) have an asterisk?
As CMS is obligated by the Federal Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552a and the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 C.F.R Parts 160 and 164, to protect the privacy of individual beneficiaries and other persons, all direct identifiers have been removed and data that are less than eleven (11) counts are suppressed. An asterisk (*) notes suppressed data. CMS applies counter or secondary suppression in cases where only one prescription is suppressed for primary reasons, e.g. one prescription in a state. Also, if one sub-group (e.g. number of prescription) is suppressed, then the other sub-group is suppressed.
See Also:
- What fields changed when CMS moved the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) to data.medicaid.gov?
- What are the data field descriptions for the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD)?
- Is the redacted State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) available to the public?
FAQ ID:91831
SHARE URLIs the redacted State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) available to the public?
No. In accordance with federal laws, State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) that has been suppressed is not available for public consumption. As CMS is obligated by the Federal Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. Section 552a and the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 C.F.R Parts 160 and 164, to protect the privacy of individual beneficiaries and other persons, all direct identifiers have been removed and data that are less than eleven (11) counts are suppressed. A checkmark in the "Suppression Used" column notes suppressed data. CMS applies counter or secondary suppression in cases where only one prescription is suppressed for primary reasons, (e.g., one prescription in a state). Also, if one sub-group (e.g., number of prescriptions) is suppressed, then the other sub-group is suppressed.
FAQ ID:91856
SHARE URLIs the amount reimbursed by Medicaid net of rebates or pre-rebate in the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD)?
Does the State Drug Utilization Data (SDUD) field "Units Reimbursed" represent the number of pills Medicaid paid for a drug that comes in a pill form?
"Units Reimbursed" are the number of units (based on Unit Type) of the drug (11-digit NDC level) reimbursed by the state or, for MCO drugs, the number of units dispensed during the Quarter/Year. For more specific information, you may contact either the Drug Manufacturer or State via the contact lists.
FAQ ID:92016
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