North Carolina HB 242: Add Psychiatric Hospitals to Medicaid Healthcare Access and Stabilization Program (HASP).

Bill Text

GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2025
H 1
HOUSE BILL 242

Short Title: Add Psychiatric Hospitals to Medicaid HASP. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Lambeth, Potts, White, and Reeder (Primary Sponsors).
For a complete list of sponsors, refer to the North Carolina General Assembly web site.
Referred to: Health, if favorable, Finance, if favorable, Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the
House
March 3, 2025
*H242-v-1*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 1
AN ACT TO INCLUDE FREESTANDING PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS AS HOSPITALS 2
THAT ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE PAYMENTS UNDER THE MEDICAID 3
HEALTHCARE ACCESS AND STABILIZATION PROGRAM AND TO PROVIDE 4
FUNDING FOR THOSE PAYMENTS THROUGH INCREASED HOSPITAL 5
ASSESSMENTS. 6
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts: 7
SECTION 1.(a) G.S. 108A-148.1(a) reads as rewritten: 8
"(a) The healthcare access and stabilization program is a directed payment program that 9
provides acute care hospitals with increased reimbursements funded through hospital 10
assessments in accordance with this section. Upon the approval of CMS, the healthcare access 11
and stabilization program directed payment program shall additionally provide qualifying 12
freestanding psychiatric hospitals with increased reimbursements funded through hospital 13
assessments. A qualifying freestanding psychiatric hospital is a freestanding psychiatric hospital 14
as defined in G.S. 108A-145.3 that is Medicare-certified and submits Hospital Cost Report 15
Information System cost report data to CMS." 16
SECTION 1.(b) The Department of Health and Human Services shall submit a 42 17
C.F.R. § 438.6(c) preprint requesting approval to include freestanding psychiatric hospitals in 18
the healthcare access and stabilization program (HASP) authorized under G.S. 108A-148.1, as 19
amended by subsection (a) of this section. 20
SECTION 1.(c) This section is effective when it becomes law. 21
SECTION 2.(a) G.S. 108A-145.3 reads as rewritten: 22
"§ 108A-145.3. Definitions. 23
The following definitions apply in this Article: 24
... 25
(6c) Freestanding psychiatric hospital. – A hospital facility that is (i) licensed 26
under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, (ii) primarily engaged 27
in providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of a physician, 28
psychiatric services for the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with mental 29
illnesses, and (iii) not State-owned and State-operated. 30
(6d) HASP directed payments. – Payments made by the Department to prepaid 31
health plans to be used for (i) increased reimbursements to hospitals under the 32
HASP program and (ii) the costs to prepaid health plans from the gross 33

General Assembly Of North Carolina Session 2025
Page 2 House Bill 242-First Edition
premiums tax under G.S. 105-228.5 and the insurance regulatory charge under 1
G.S. 58-6-25 associated with those hospital reimbursements. 2
(6d)(6e) Healthcare access and stabilization program (HASP). – The directed 3
payment program providing increased reimbursements to acute care hospitals 4
and freestanding psychiatric hospitals as approved by CMS and authorized by 5
G.S. 108A-148.1. 6
...." 7
SECTION 2.(b) G.S. 108A-146.1 reads as rewritten: 8
"§ 108A-146.1. Public hospital modernized assessment. 9
(a) The public hospital modernized assessment imposed under this Part shall apply to all 10
public acute care hospitals. 11
(b) The public hospital modernized assessment shall be assessed as a percentage of each 12
public acute care hospital's hospital costs. The assessment percentage shall be calculated 13
quarterly by the Department of Health and Human Services in accordance with this Part. The 14
percentage for each quarter shall equal the aggregate acute care hospital modernized assessment 15
collection amount under G.S. 108A-146.5 multiplied by the public hospital historical assessment 16
share and divided by the total hospital costs for all public acute care hospitals holding a license 17
on the first day of the assessment quarter." 18
SECTION 2.(c) G.S. 108A-146.3 reads as rewritten: 19
"§ 108A-146.3. Private hospital modernized assessment. 20
(a) The private hospital modernized assessment imposed under this Part shall apply to all 21
private acute care hospitals. 22
(b) The private hospital modernized assessment shall be assessed as a percentage of each 23
private acute care hospital's hospital costs. The assessment percentage shall be calculated 24
quarterly by the Department of Health and Human Services in accordance with this Part. The 25
percentage for each quarter shall equal the aggregate acute care hospital modernized assessment 26
collection amount under G.S. 108A-146.5 multiplied by the private hospital historical assessment 27
share and divided by the total hospital costs for all private acute care hospitals holding a license 28
on the first day of the assessment quarter." 29
SECTION 2.(d) Part 2 of Article 7B of Chapter 108A of the General Statutes is 30
amended by adding a new section to read: