Hospitals to get additional Medicare funds

WASHINGTON – Hospitals throughout Maine will benefit from $65 million in additional funding over the next five years as a result of legislation passed by Congress late last year. The funding allocation was determined by an evaluation of new provisions passed in the Fiscal Year 2001 spending bill conducted in recent months by the Maine Hospital Association, according to U.S. Sen. Olympia J. Snowe and U.S. Rep. John Baldacci.

“This significant additional funding will make a real difference for people throughout the state who rely on their local hospitals to provide outstanding medical care,” said Snowe, author of several of the provisions benefiting Maine. “Small hospitals across the country are facing an increasingly uncertain future, and this funding lends crucial additional support to our rural health care providers. By refining the Critical Access Hospital program, for example, we can ensure that this designation is flexible enough for most rural areas.”

Baldacci, who serves on the House Rural Health Care Caucus and the House Prescription Medicine Task Force, said, “The state of Maine will enjoy tremendous benefits from passage of this legislation. [The $65 million in additional federal reimbursements] is terrific news for both providers and consumers. More must be done to increase Medicare reimbursements, but this is a substantial step in the right direction.”

Medicare-related provisions that provide relief for Maine hospitals include:

. $23.964 million in funding from improved inflation updates for hospital inpatient and outpatient services.

. $2.6 million in additional funding to make the Critical Access Hospitals program more flexible. Eligible hospitals currently participating in the program include: Blue Hill Hospital; St. Andrews Hospital in Boothbay Harbor; Charles A. Dean Memorial Hospital in Greenville; Mt. Desert Hospital in Bar Harbor; and Penobscot Valley Hospital in Lincoln.

. $5.390 million in additional funding to correct a drafting error involving Medicare reimbursements for the Sole Community Hospital program, designated on the basis of conditions such as isolated location, weather or travel conditions, or the absence of other hospitals within a radius of 35 miles by road.

. $9.984 million in funding to meet the needs of “Disproportionate Share Hospitals” that have disproportionately large proportions of patients on Medicare and Medicaid.

. $4.145 million in additional funding for hospitals that support teaching and internship programs.

. $1.433 million to eliminate a scheduled 15 percent reduction in home health care cost limits.

. $10,805 million in additional funding for Medicare Dependent Hospitals, a classification of small rural hospitals.

. $281,000 in additional funding to support ambulance services in rural areas.

. $4.921 million in funding to meet costs hospitals incur when patients or insurers will not cover costs.

. $1.526 million to provide improved inflation adjustments for nursing home facilities.