Alberta's acute care funding plan: update to December 1994

From 1990 until 1994 Alberta Health adjusted the acute care portion of hospital budgets based on a case mix index, initially called the Hospital Performance Index (HPI). The HPI formula method was a temporary measure; in November 1993, Alberta Health announced that, commencing in 1994, hospitals would be funded on a prospective basis, although they would still use the core of the HPI in the setting of funding rates. The creation of 17 health regions in June 1994 created the need for a new system of funding which would supplant the modified prospective system. In this paper we review the evolution of the HPI plan and its individual components-patient data, patient classification, funding weights, inpatient costs and adjustment factors.