The California Assembly Committee on Health has approved a bill that would extend by two years a quality assurance fee for hospitals under the state's Medicaid program, Medi-Cal.
The legislation would require private acute-care hospitals to pay a specified fee for inpatient care, which will go toward the state's hospital quality assurance revenue fund. The current fee is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2013.
The bill would also provide supplemental Medi-Cal payments to private hospitals, increase payments to Medi-Cal managed care plans for hospital services and provide grants for public hospitals.
Although the potential economic impact is not fully known, state lawmakers estimate it would result in $2.8 billion in revenue from quality assurance fees. Private hospitals would receive an estimated $3.1 billion per year, and Medi-Cal managed care plans would get paid $1.4 billion annually for two years. Additionally, the state would spend $475 million to provide extra support to children's health care coverage.
Earlier this week, the California Department of Health Care Services released its implementation plan for a 10 percent cut in provider reimbursements under Medi-Cal. The cuts are expected to reduce state spending by $623 million per year.
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