Anxious about anticipated repeal of ACA, HARI disappointed by Raimondo’s budget proposal

MICHAEL SOUZA, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said HARI and its members are disappointed the proposed budget includes hospital payment cuts. / COURTESY HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND
MICHAEL SOUZA, president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island, said HARI and its members are disappointed the proposed budget includes hospital payment cuts. / COURTESY HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION OF RHODE ISLAND

PROVIDENCE – The fiscal 2018 proposed state budget that Gov. Gina M. Raimondo released Jan. 19 includes the elimination of upper payment limit payments, which are federal funds used to ensure that Medicaid reimburses hospitals at an amount equal to Medicaid, as well as Medicaid payment reductions and reduced payments to inpatient mental health providers.

While the Hospital Association of Rhode Island continues to analyze the impact of these proposals, HARI President Michael R. Souza issued this statement: “The Hospital Association of Rhode Island and its members are disappointed the proposed budget includes hospital payment cuts. We will continue to work with the General Assembly and [the Raimondo] administration to find lasting solutions that address state fiscal problems while ensuring a financially stable health care system.”

Souza’s statement continued, “Hospitals provide nearly $7 billion in economic impact to our state. Elected officials must recognize hospitals are critical to a strong, healthy and stable Rhode Island. We urge them to make the appropriate investments to ensure the safety net is protected for Rhode Island patients.”

According to HARI, in Rhode Island, 30,000 individuals accessed health care through HealthSource RI and another 70,000 individuals accessed health care through expanded Medicaid coverage. Those 100,000 individuals – representing nearly 10 percent of the state’s population – would face problems accessing health care, should the Affordable Care Act be repealed. Hospitals would likely incur additional costs by providing uncompensated care to this cohort of the population.

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A study commissioned by the American Hospital Association evaluated the estimated financial impact on hospitals, nationwide, from 2018-26, based on a recent repeal bill, H.R. 3762, which Rep. Tom Price, a Republican congressman from Georgia and President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, sponsored. Should that bill be enacted into law, the cost to Rhode Island’s hospitals would be $1.7 billion, Souza reported. Moreover, hospitals have been hit with Medicare payment reductions to fund the Affordable Care Act’s implementation, including Medicaid expansion. Over that 10-year period, which began in 2010, those payment reductions for Rhode Island’s hospitals total $1 billion.

Souza urged both Raimondo and members of the General Assembly to “protect access to health care during this time of uncertainty.”

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