DMAS Clarifies Payment Delay

VHCA (3/13/2009)

Initially included in the Governor’s amendments in the introduced State Budget, the Commonwealth intended to achieve budget savings by delaying Medicaid provider payments beginning in late state fiscal year 2009.  Late last week, VHCA received clarification from the Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) on this issue. 

As introduced, the delay would amount to essentially a permanent lengthening of the processing time for payment of claims by DMAS.  Due to concerns within the Administration related to compliance with requirements of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, modifications were made to ensure that Virginia would not jeopardize receipt of the state’s full share of federal stimulus funding. The delay in payment is still there, but the impact on providers has been greatly reduced.  The payment that would normally be made June 26 will be delayed until July 3.  The introduced budget's language would have continued this delay throughout the year, pushing back every payment by one week. 

Assuming that the Governor does not make any additional modifications, the delay will now happen only one week each year.  Providers will receive two payments on July 3 - the one that would normally have been made June 26, and the one that normally would be made July 3.  Payment for claims will then stay current throughout the remainder of the state fiscal year, until the last Friday of June 2010, when DMAS will delay that payment until the first Friday of July 2010.