On Beacon Hill…
With state deficits threatening further erosion of the free care pool already and an insufficient Medicaid reimbursement rate, Partners could expect cuts of $84 million in FY 04 under the Romney plan, while the House budget would reduce that to about $30 million. However, the Senate’s $22.5 billion budget includes an eight percent increase in overall Medicaid funding with restored funding for MassHealth Basic coverage. MassHealth Basic would not be restored under the House budget, the Governor’s proposed co-payments would stand, and a variety of measures would be added in an effort to control Medicaid pharmacy costs.
Although hospital contributions to the uncompensated care pool are limited to $157 million and insurer contributions are increased to the same level under both the Senate and House budgets, the funding allocated to the pool is not adequate to cover pool expenses in the coming fiscal year. In the event of a shortfall, the House proposes to make hospitals pay an increased amount; a move that significantly increases the burden of safety net hospitals. The Senate proposes a more equitable distribution.
The House and Senate decided to restore $1.1 million in funding for interpreter services in emergency rooms, psychiatric units, and psychiatric hospitals. The next step is for representatives of the House and Senate to meet in conference committees to negotiate existing gaps before sending a final budget to the Governor.
The House has proposed to expand the number of community cardiac surgery programs from the current three (North Shore Medical Center, Cape Cod Hospital, and South Coast Health System) to as many as seven. The additional sites would not have to meet any of the standards set by the Department of Public Health (DPH) in approving the community-based programs and would not have to await the results of the first phase.
BWH Chief Medical Officer Andy Whittemore, MD and the BWPO Chief Medical
Officer Andrew Sussman, MD, were among those involved in the Massachusetts Hospital Association’s Beacon Hill advocacy day on May 13. The day featured one-on-one meetings with several key legislators including Sen. Jarrett Barrios (D-Cambridge), Sen. Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Sen. Dianne Wilkerson (D-Boston), Rep. Jeffrey Sanchez (D-Boston), and Rep. Tom McGee (D-Lynn). Discussion focused on both hospital and physician reimbursement issues.