(1) The purpose of this chapter is to establish a safety net program, including an assessment on certain nongovernmental medicaid prospective payment system hospitals and critical access hospitals and an allowance for intergovernmental transfers for designated public hospitals, which will be used solely as specified in this chapter to maintain and improve equity of access to and quality of care of hospital services for medicaid clients, including those served by managed care organizations.
(2) The legislature finds that the program established by this chapter will allow the state to more fully realize the benefits of increased federal financial participation in the medicaid program and to address expanded medicaid enrollment resulting from federal health care reform, thereby benefiting medicaid clients.
(3) In adopting this chapter, it is the intent of the legislature:
(a) To condition the assessment as specified in RCW 74.60.150, including: (i) Receipt and continuation of federal approval for payment of additional federal financial participation to support the payments provided for in RCW 74.60.100 through 74.60.130; and (ii) continuation of funding from the state general fund sufficient to maintain aggregate payment levels to hospitals for inpatient and outpatient services covered by medicaid, including fee-for-service and managed care, at least at the rates the state paid for those services on July 1, 2022, as adjusted for current enrollment and utilization;
(b) That funds generated by the assessment will be matched with federal dollars whenever possible to achieve the maximum level of benefits, and that the total amount assessed under this chapter not exceed the amount needed, in combination with all other available funds, to support the payments authorized by this chapter;
(c) That upon satisfaction of the applicable conditions in RCW 74.60.090, the designated public hospitals will be able to receive additional federal matching funds, used only for the purposes specified in this chapter.