Ten hospitals sued New Hampshire in federal court yesterday, claiming the state is violating the federal Medicaid Act by providing inadequate reimbursement, according to a Boston Globe report.
The hospitals argue Medicaid cuts were made for state budgetary reasons, and the costs of treating Medicaid patients were not factored. The budget cuts totaled $115 million over two years.
The suit claims the budget cut is jeopardizing the poor's access to healthcare, since several hospitals intend to close or are considering the closure of their affiliated physicians' practices to new Medicaid patients. Some hospitals may end their Medicaid contract with the state all together, according to the report.
Service lines may experience cuts too: the neonatal intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Children's Hospital is at risk of closure, as is the helicopter rescue program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
Read the Boston Globe report on New Hampshire hospitals and Medicaid.
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The hospitals argue Medicaid cuts were made for state budgetary reasons, and the costs of treating Medicaid patients were not factored. The budget cuts totaled $115 million over two years.
The suit claims the budget cut is jeopardizing the poor's access to healthcare, since several hospitals intend to close or are considering the closure of their affiliated physicians' practices to new Medicaid patients. Some hospitals may end their Medicaid contract with the state all together, according to the report.
Service lines may experience cuts too: the neonatal intensive care unit at Dartmouth-Hitchcock's Children's Hospital is at risk of closure, as is the helicopter rescue program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon.
Read the Boston Globe report on New Hampshire hospitals and Medicaid.
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