Can a patient who is eligible for the federal Hill-Burton Program also be counted as eligible for HCAP?
Theoretically, yes, since both programs cover patients with incomes below the federal poverty income guidelines. However, the US Department of Health and Human Services determines a patient’s eligibility for Hill-Burton based on the date of application, not the date of service, and it counts the size of a patient’s family differently than HCAP. As such, assuming a hospital can document a patient is eligible for HCAP based on OAC 5101:3-2-07.17 , there is nothing to keep it from also applying that account to the hospital’s Hill Burton obligation.
