This bill amends the Code of West Virginia to designate a specific type of psychiatric hospital as a "state-designated facility" for the purposes of tax regulations. It introduces new language that qualifies a licensed psychiatric hospital with an average annual inpatient census of over 95% of court-ordered forensic and civil involuntary commitments from state custody or state-owned hospitals as eligible for this designation. This change aims to clarify the definition of eligible hospitals under the tax provisions, particularly in relation to the Medicaid State Share Fund and the directed payment program.

Additionally, the bill outlines the tax structure for eligible acute care hospitals, including a contingent increase in tax rates to provide non-federal share funding as required by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). It specifies the management of funds collected through these taxes, ensuring they are deposited into a special revenue account and used exclusively to support West Virginia Medicaid and the directed payment program. The bill also includes provisions for the suspension of tax collection under certain conditions, such as changes in federal law that may affect the eligibility of these taxes for state Medicaid funding.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 11-27-38
Engrossed Version: 11-27-38