A new interim payment plan was approved yesterday by a New Hampshire legislative committee for hospitals treating the poorest residents in the state, according to a Boston Globe report.
The new payment plan was designed to make the state compliant with new federal regulations that could disqualify the state from receiving federal funding intended to pay for the uncompensated care of Medicaid and uninsured patients.
In the past, New Hampshire has collected a Medicaid Enhancement Tax from hospitals and used that money as the state match to collect federal Medicaid Disproportionate Share money. The state then paid the hospitals a DSH payment that was equivalent to the amount each hospital paid in the MET, and the federal money went into the state's general fund. However, in 2004, the federal government audited the state and tried to take back $35 million, claiming New Hampshire’s management of the DSH program was not in compliance with federal standards, according to a Concord Monitor report.
Under the new repayment plan, New Hampshire will collect $187 million in taxes from the hospitals, keeping half. Using the remaining taxes and federal funds, the state will distribute $207 million to cover hospital expenses for caring for the poor, according to the Boston Globe report.
This repayment will still be $91 million less than what hospitals usually spend on uncompensated care, according to an official cited in the Boston Globe report.
The plan still needs federal approval.
Read more about New Hampshire healthcare:
-New Hampshire Attorney General Reviews Hospital Executive Salaries
-New Hampshire Lawmakers Consider Bill That Would Create Commission to Set Hospital Rates
-New Hampshire Department of Health Slashes Medicaid Payments to Hospitals
The new payment plan was designed to make the state compliant with new federal regulations that could disqualify the state from receiving federal funding intended to pay for the uncompensated care of Medicaid and uninsured patients.
In the past, New Hampshire has collected a Medicaid Enhancement Tax from hospitals and used that money as the state match to collect federal Medicaid Disproportionate Share money. The state then paid the hospitals a DSH payment that was equivalent to the amount each hospital paid in the MET, and the federal money went into the state's general fund. However, in 2004, the federal government audited the state and tried to take back $35 million, claiming New Hampshire’s management of the DSH program was not in compliance with federal standards, according to a Concord Monitor report.
Under the new repayment plan, New Hampshire will collect $187 million in taxes from the hospitals, keeping half. Using the remaining taxes and federal funds, the state will distribute $207 million to cover hospital expenses for caring for the poor, according to the Boston Globe report.
This repayment will still be $91 million less than what hospitals usually spend on uncompensated care, according to an official cited in the Boston Globe report.
The plan still needs federal approval.
Read more about New Hampshire healthcare:
-New Hampshire Attorney General Reviews Hospital Executive Salaries
-New Hampshire Lawmakers Consider Bill That Would Create Commission to Set Hospital Rates
-New Hampshire Department of Health Slashes Medicaid Payments to Hospitals