Issue Brief 13-26
August 29, 2013
Summary 

On July 26, 2013, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a notice in the Federal Register that provides final fiscal year (FY) 2012 disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments, and preliminary FY 2013 DSH ceilings. The release includes separate limits for DSH payments to institutions for mental disease (IMDs) and other mental health facilities.

Overall, the final FY 2012 DSH allotments were approximately $20 million (0.2%) more than the preliminary allotments published last year. In addition, most states are expected to see slight increases in FY 2013. Beginning in FY 2014, however, the Affordable Care Act (ACA; P.L. 111-148 and 111-152) significantly reduces aggregate DSH payments based on the assumption that, with the expansion of health care coverage, there will be fewer uninsured and less uncompensated care.