At least 50 community hospitals in Massachusetts will likely qualify for payments from a state trust fund under a new formula being developed by the state to help keep them competitive with larger academic medical centers, according to the Sentinel & Enterprise.
Massachusetts community hospitals for years have been seeking a solution to the way they are reimbursed by insurers, which frequently pay teaching and academic hospitals more for the same services, despite research that shows community hospitals often provide equal or higher quality of care, according to the report.
Earlier this year, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and legislative leaders enacted a law that created a $45 million Community Hospital Reinvestment Fund, which will pay community hospitals on a sliding scale based on their reimbursement rate set by insurers.
Dec. 14 was the deadline for public comment on the proposed formula that will determine which hospitals receive the supplemental payments and which will not, according to the report.