The rates of reimbursement for specialty hospitals as defined in Part 680 of this Title will be revised to incorporate funding for compensation increases to direct support professional employees. Such rate increases will be effective January 1, 2015. The compensation increase funding will be included in the provider's rate issued for January 1, 2015 or in a subsequent rate with the inclusion of funding in the amount necessary to achieve the same funding impact as if the rate had been issued on January 1, 2015. The compensation increase funding will be inclusive of associated fringe benefits.

In addition to the compensation funding effective January 1, 2015, providers that operate specialty hospitals will receive a compensation increase targeted to direct support professional and clinical employees to be effective April 1, 2015. The compensation increase funding will be inclusive of associated fringe benefits. The April 1, 2015 direct support professional compensation funding will be the same, on an annualized basis, as that which was calculated for the January 1, 2015 compensation increase and will be an augmentation to the January 1, 2015 increase.

The basis for the calculation of direct care, support and clinical salary averages will be the data from the provider’s January 1, 2011 - December 31, 2011 CFR. The fringe benefit percentage will be that fringe benefit percentage utilized in the provider’s December 31, 2014 specialty hospital rate.