(a) There shall be imposed on each general acute care hospital that is not an exempt facility a quality assurance fee, except that a quality assurance fee under this article shall not be imposed on a converted hospital for the periods when the hospital is a public hospital or a new hospital with respect to a program period. (b) The department shall compute the quarterly quality assurance fee for each subject fiscal year during a program period pursuant to Section 14169.59. (c) Subject to Section 14169.63, on the later of the date of the departmentâs receipt of federal approval or the first day of each program period, the following shall commence: (1) Within 10 business days following receipt of the notice of federal approval, the department shall send notice to each hospital subject to the quality assurance fee, which shall contain the following information: (A) The date that the state received notice of federal approval. (B) The quarterly quality assurance fee for each subject fiscal year. (C) The date on which each payment is due. (2) The hospitals shall pay the quarterly quality assurance fee, based on a schedule developed by the department. The department shall establish the date that each payment is due, provided that the first payment shall be due no earlier than 20 days following the department sending the notice pursuant to paragraph (1), and the payments shall be paid at least one month apart, but if possible, the payments shall be paid on a quarterly basis. (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the amount of each hospitalâs quarterly quality assurance fee for a program period that has not been paid by the hospital before 15 days prior to the end of a program period shall be paid by the hospital no later than 15 days prior to the end of a program period. (4) Each hospital described in subdivision (a) shall pay the quarterly quality assurance fees that are due, if any, in the amounts and at the times set forth in the notice unless superseded by a subsequent notice from the department. (d) The quality assurance fee, as assessed pursuant to this section, shall be paid by each hospital subject to the fee to the department for deposit in the fund. Deposits may be accepted at any time and shall be credited toward the program period for which the fees were assessed. This article shall not affect the ability of a hospital to pay fees assessed for a program period after the end of that program period. (e) This section shall become inoperative if the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services denies approval for, or does not approve before December 1, 2016, the implementation of the quality assurance fee pursuant to this article or the supplemental payments to private hospitals pursuant to this article for the first program period. (f) In no case shall the aggregate fees collected in a federal fiscal year pursuant to this section, former Section 14167.32, Section 14168.32, and Section 14169.32 exceed the maximum percentage of the annual aggregate net patient revenue for hospitals subject to the fee that is prescribed pursuant to federal law and regulations as necessary to preclude a finding that an indirect guarantee has been created. (g) (1) Interest shall be assessed on quality assurance fees not paid on the date due at the greater of 10 percent per annum or the rate at which the department assesses interest on Medi-Cal program overpayments to hospitals that are not repaid when due. Interest shall begin to accrue the day after the date the payment was due and shall be deposited in the fund. (2) In the event that any fee payment is more than 60 days overdue, a penalty equal to the interest charge described in paragraph (1) shall be assessed and due for each month for which the payment is not received after 60 days. (h) When a hospital fails to pay all or part of the quality assurance fee on or before the date that payment is due, the department may immediately begin to deduct the unpaid assessmen
‹ Prev All California sections Next ›
Lexace provides legal information, not legal advice, and no attorney–client relationship is created. Statute text is provided for general information and may not reflect the most recent amendments; verify against the official state code.