Medicaid: Disproportionate Share Payments to State Psychiatric Hospitals

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) program payments to state psychiatric institutions, focusing on: (1) how the amount of DSH payments to state psychiatric hospitals compares with DSH payments made to other types of hospitals; (2) how the proportion of Medicaid beneficiaries in state psychiatric hospitals compares with the proportion in other state hospitals; and (3) what proportion of the maximum allowable DSH payment states paid state psychiatric hospitals compared with the proportion of the maximum allowable paid to other types of hospitals.