Each Medicaid-participating long term care facility is required to submit an annual uniform cost report, designed by OHCA, for the state fiscal year just completed.  The state fiscal year is July 1 through June 30.  The reports must be submitted to the OHCA on or before the last day of October of the subsequent year.

• (1) The report must be prepared on the basis of generally accepted accounting principles and the accrual basis of accounting, except as otherwise specified in the cost report instructions.
• (2) The cost report must be filed using the Secure Website.  The instructions and data entry screen simulations will be made available on the OHCA public website under the Provider/Long Term Care Facility/Cost Reporting options.
• (3) When there is a change of operation or ownership, the selling or closing ownership is required to file a cost report for that portion of the fiscal year it was in operation.  The successor ownership is correspondingly required to file a cost report for that portion of the fiscal year it was in operation.  These "Partial Year Reports" must be filed on paper or electronically by e-mail (not on the secure website system) to the Finance Division of the OHCA on the forms and by the instructions found on the OHCA public website (see directions as noted above).
• (4) Cost report instructions are mailed annually to each facility before the first of July and are available on the public website.
• (5) Normally, all ordinary and necessary expenses net of any offsets of credits incurred in the conduct of an economical and efficiently operated business are recognized as allowable.  Allowable costs include all items of Medicaid-covered expense which nursing facilities incur in the provision of routine services.  "Routine services" include, but are not limited to, regular room, dietary and nursing services, minor medical and surgical supplies, over-the-counter medications, transportation, dental examinations, dentures and related services, eye glasses, routine eye examinations, and the use and maintenance of equipment and facilities essential to the provision of routine care.   Allowable costs must be considered reasonable, necessary and proper, and shall include only those costs that are considered allowable for Medicare purposes and that are consistent with federal Medicaid requirements.  (The guidelines for allowable costs in the Medicare program are set forth in the Medicare Provider Reimbursement Manual ("PRM"), HCFA-Pub. 15.)  Ancillary items reimbursed outside the nursing facility rate are not included in the cost report and are not allowable costs.
• (6) All reports are subject to on-site audits and are deemed public records.