Karen Duncan, MD 
Executive Vice President, Community Health
JPS Health Network

In December 2011, Texas received federal approval of an 1115 waiver that would preserve Upper Payment Limit (UPL) funding under a new methodology, but allow for managed care expansion to additional areas of the state.

The purpose of the 1115 Healthcare Transformation waiver, supplemental payment funding, managed care savings, and negotiated funding will go into two statewide pools now worth $29 billion (all funds) over five years. Funding from the pools will be distributed to hospitals and other providers to support the following objectives: (1) an uncompensated care (UC) pool to reimburse for uncompensated care costs as reported in the annual waiver application/UC cost report; and (2) a Delivery System Reform Incentive Payment (DSRIP) pool to incentivize hospitals and other providers to transform their service delivery practices to improve quality, health status, patient experience, coordination, and cost-effectiveness.

Uncompensated Care Pool Payments are designed to help offset the costs of uncompensated care provided by the hospital or other providers.

DSRIP Pool Payments are incentive payments to hospitals and other providers that develop programs or strategies to enhance access to health care, increase the quality of care, the cost-effectiveness of care provided and the health of the patients and families served.

Under the transformation waiver, eligibility to get Uncompensated Care or DSRIP payments will require participation in a regional healthcare partnership. Within a partnership, participants include governmental entities providing public funds known as intergovernmental transfers (IGT), Medicaid providers and other stakeholders. Participants will develop a regional plan identifying partners, community needs, the proposed projects, and funding distribution. Each partnership must have one anchoring entity, which acts as a primary point of contact for HHSC in the region and is responsible for seeking regional stakeholder engagement and coordinating development of a regional plan.