(1) For nursing facility services, other than ICF/IID services, provided by nursing facilities located within the state of Montana, the Montana Medicaid program will pay a provider, for each Medicaid patient day, a per diem rate determined in accordance with this rule, minus the amount of the Medicaid recipient's patient contribution.

(2) Effective July 1, 2001, and in subsequent rate years, nursing facilities will be reimbursed using a price-based reimbursement methodology. The rate for each facility will be determined using the operating component defined in (2)(a) and the direct resident care component defined in (2)(b):

(a) The operating component is the same per diem for each nursing facility. It is set at 80% of the statewide price for nursing facility services.

(b) The direct resident care component of each facility's rate is 20% of the overall statewide price for nursing facility services. It is adjusted for the acuity of the Medicaid residents served in each facility. The acuity adjustment increases or decreases the direct resident care component in proportion to the relationship between each facility's Medicaid average case mix index and the statewide average Medicaid case mix index.

(i) The Medicaid average case mix index for each facility to be used in rate setting will be the simple average of each facility's four Medicaid case mix indices calculated for the periods of February 1 of the current year and November 1, August 1 and May 1 of the year immediately preceding the current year. The statewide average Medicaid case mix index will be the weighted average of each facility's four quarter average Medicaid case mix index to be used in rate setting.

(c) The statewide price for nursing facility services will be determined each year through a public process. Factors that could be considered in the establishment of this price include the cost of providing nursing facility services, Medicaid recipients access to nursing facility services, and the quality of nursing facility care.

(d) The total payment rate available for the period July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018 will be the rate as computed in (2), plus any additional amount computed in ARM 37.40.311 and 37.40.361.

(3) Providers who, as of July 1 of the rate year, have not filed with the department a cost report covering a period of at least six months participation in the Medicaid program in a newly constructed facility will have a rate set at the statewide median price as computed on July 1, 2017. Following a change in provider as defined in ARM 37.40.325, the per diem rate for the new provider will be set at the previous provider's rate, as if no change in provider had occurred.

(4) For ICF/IID services provided by nursing facilities located within the state of Montana, the Montana Medicaid program will pay a provider as provided in ARM 37.40.336.

(5) In addition to the per diem rate provided under (2) or the reimbursement allowed to an ICF/IID provider under (4), the Montana Medicaid program will pay providers located within the state of Montana for separately billable items, in accordance with ARM 37.40.330.

(6) For nursing facility services, including ICF/IID services, provided by nursing facilities located outside the state of Montana, the Montana Medicaid program will pay a provider only as provided in ARM 37.40.337.

(7) The Montana Medicaid program will not pay any provider for items billable to residents under the provisions of ARM 37.40.331.

(8) Reimbursement for Medicare coinsurance days will be as follows:

(a) for dually eligible Medicaid and Medicare individuals, reimbursement is limited to the per diem rate, as determined under (1) or ARM 37.40.336, or the Medicare co-insurance rate, whichever is lower, minus the Medicaid recipient's patient contribution; and

(b) for individuals whose Medicare buy-in premium is being paid under the qualified Medicare beneficiary (QMB) program under ARM 37.83.201 but are not otherwise Medicaid eligible, payment will be made only under the QMB program at the Medicare coinsurance rate.

(9) The department will not make any nursing facility per diem or other reimbursement payments for any patient day for which a resident is not admitted to a facility bed which is licensed and certified as provided in ARM 37.40.306 as a nursing facility or skilled nursing facility bed.

(10) The department will not reimburse a nursing facility for any patient day for which another nursing facility is holding a bed under the provisions of ARM 37.40.338(1), unless the nursing facility seeking such payment has, prior to admission, notified the facility holding a bed that the resident has been admitted to another nursing facility. The nursing facility seeking such payment must maintain written documentation of such notification.

(11) Providers must bill for all services and supplies in accordance with the provisions of ARM 37.85.406. The department's fiscal agent will pay a provider on a monthly basis the amount determined under these rules upon receipt of an appropriate billing which reports the number of patient days of nursing facility services provided to authorized Medicaid recipients during the billing period.

(a) Authorized Medicaid recipients are those residents determined eligible for Medicaid and authorized for nursing facility services as a result of the screening process described in ARM 37.40.101, 37.40.105, 37.40.106, 37.40.110, 37.40.120, and 37.40.201, et seq.

(12) Payments provided under this rule are subject to all limitations and cost settlement provisions specified in applicable laws, regulations, rules, and policies. All payments or rights to payments under this rule are subject to recovery or nonpayment, as specifically provided in these rules.