Ore. hospitals agree to Medicaid expansion tax
Rebecca Vesely, Modern Healthcare
May 29, 2009
Oregon hospitals have agreed to a four-year tax to expand Medicaid access to 60,000 uninsured adults by 2013. The hospitals struck the deal with leaders of the Democratic-controlled Legislature and the governor, who is expected to sign the agreement next week.
In addition, commercial health plans have agreed to a 1% premium tax that will pay to insure 80,000 children. Under the terms of the hospital deal, 26 out of 57 hospitals in the state will be taxed, depending on their patient population, size and geography. The tax will raise about $300 million per biennium, allowing the state to draw down about double the amount of federal matching Medicaid dollars. Only hospitals paid on a DRG basis through Medicaid are subject to the tax.
The state also is changing reimbursements for Medicaid fee-for-service so all hospitals in the state are paid the same amount. Today, there is a 69% variation across hospitals in reimbursement, according to the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.
Oregon has the second-highest unemployment rate in the nation and has more than 600,000 uninsured. Today, 380,000 adults are covered by the Oregon Health Plan, the name for Medicaid in the state. "We all share the goal of covering as many Oregonians as possible," said Andy Davidson, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, adding that the tax is not a long-term sustainable solution, and that "we need to have a conversation about a much more broad-based funding solution."
Link to the story: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20090529/REG/305299971
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