Medicaid news: Fla. Gov. Scott's budget tackles hospital reimbursements

Modern Healthcare: Fla. Governor Urges $2.1 Billion Cut In State Medicaid Budget
Florida Gov. Rick Scott recommended cutting the state's Medicaid budget by $2.1 billion. Most of that savings, part of a $66.4 billion budget proposal, would come from changing the way hospitals are paid for treating Medicaid patients. ... Scott, once chairman and CEO of hospital chain Columbia/HCA, described the proposed changes to Medicaid reimbursement as "paying similar rates for the same procedures in similar hospitals" (Blesch, 12/8).

The Miami Herald: Scott Aides Defend Medicaid Cuts
Gov. Rick Scott's proposal to pay less to hospitals to control spiraling Medicaid costs drew skepticism from some lawmakers and hostility from hospitals Thursday. Scott's plan is central to his $66 billion budget proposal, and ensures that his own history as CEO of a for-profit hospital chain that paid a record $1.7 billion in fines for Medicare fraud would attract new attention (Bousquet, 12/8).

The Miami Herald: Jackson Health System Could Lose $133 Million Under Governor's Proposed Budget
Jackson Health System stands to lose $133.5 million in Medicaid funds under the proposed budget of Gov. Rick Scott, according to a study released Thursday by the Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida. ... Scott is also suggesting that the maximum allowable in-patient days that Medicaid will pay will be reduced from 45 to 23, the alliance said (Dorschner, 12/8).

Health News Florida: How Much Would Each Hospital Lose?
Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget would inflict particular pain on hospitals that treat large numbers of Medicaid patients, but the amount of the pain varies. Here is the updated list (12/8).

New Hampshire Public Radio: Hospitals and State Spar Over Money
Thursday morning the two sides clashed in federal court over a cut in how much the state pays to treat low-income patients. And then this afternoon, lawmakers drilled down on a tax dispute with some of the hospitals. ... The gist of the hospital's federal lawsuit is that reimbursement rates are now so low, it's putting too much responsibility on hospitals to care for the poor (Gorenstein, 12/8).

Georgia Health News: Pay Cut Averted For Medicaid, PeachCare
Doctors, dentists and other health care providers have been spared a 0.5 percent cut in payment for treating Medicaid and PeachCare patients. The board of the Department of Community Health adopted a resolution Thursday rescinding the reduction in reimbursement, which was projected to save the state $13.9 million annually. The cut had not yet taken effect (Miller, 12/8).

The Connecticut Mirror: DSS Considers Restricting "Financially Unsustainable" Medicaid Program, Drawing Rebuke From Advocates
Warning that a portion of the state's Medicaid program has become "financially unsustainable," state officials have outlined ways to limit enrollment and scale back benefits in a "concept paper" sent to federal officials. ... At issue is the Medicaid Low-Income Adult program, or LIA, which was created shortly after federal health reform passed in 2010. It covers adults without minor children who have incomes up to 56 percent of the poverty level (Levin Becker, 12/8).