It is the right time for the Hospital Provider Fee
The Allan Zaremberg article on the hospital provider fee, AB 1383 (Jones/Alquist) is both inaccurate and misleading. I am responding because the preservation of the health care safety net is at stake.
California hospitals lost $4 billion last year due to Medi-Cal underpayments—nearly double the losses since 2004. We rank 50th in Medi-Cal reimbursement rates (51st if we count the District of Columbia). Because California has been unable to meet the federal match requirements the state now leaves almost $2 billion federal dollars a year unclaimed. There is zero possibility of being able to meet the match in the foreseeable future. But there is an established process to bring those federal funds into California without cost to taxpayers, hospitals or patients.
Twenty two other states use the same hospital provider assessment proposed by AB 1383 to increase reimbursements. This is a cost effective, proven method to address the problem, with no cost to the general fund, to taxpayers, to patients or to hospitals.