Missouri Legislature passes bills that impose levies on health care providers to generate additional Federal Medicaid funding

Missouri lawmakers have approved two bills (HB 740 and SB 307) that extend or create health care provider taxes or certification fees as part of an effort to draw in more federal Medicaid matching dollars, the AP/Ann Arbor News reports.

HB 740 would create a provider tax for ambulances and in-home care providers and a certification fee for certain mental health care providers. SB 307 would extend until 2011 the expiration date on provider taxes on pharmacies, and Medicaid managed care and intermediate care facilities for the mentally disabled.

The taxes and fees are collected to generate additional federal Medicaid dollars, which are then redistributed to the providers. Existing taxes levied on industries such as hospitals, nursing homes, prescription drug providers and Medicaid managed care companies generated nearly $1.1 billion last fiscal year, resulting in an additional $1.8 billion in matching federal Medicaid funds, according to data from the Missouri Department of Social Services and Department of Mental Health (AP/Ann Arbor News, 5/12).