AHA urges CMS to withdraw Medicaid DSH proposal

The American Hospital Association submitted a letter Tuesday to CMS, asking the agency to withdraw a proposed rule to include third-party payments when calculating the hospital-specific limitation on Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments. 

Advertisement

In its proposal, CMS says the rule is simply a clarification on existing policy.

“Specifically, the rule would make clearer in the text of the regulation that uncompensated care costs include only those costs for Medicaid eligible individuals that remain after accounting for payments received by hospitals or on behalf of Medicaid eligible individuals, including Medicare and other third-party payments that compensate the hospitals for care furnished to such individuals,” the proposed rule states. 

In the letter to CMS, the AHA argues the proposed rule is more than a clarification and actually establishes new policy. According to the AHA, CMS proposed the rule to avoid potentially unfavorable rulings in cases pending in federal court that address the DSH payment calculation.

More articles on healthcare finance:

Senior finance executives name their top 10 RCM initiatives
This week’s 5 must-reads for hospital CFOs
20 financial benchmarks for hospital executives

At the Becker's 11th Annual IT + Revenue Cycle Conference: The Future of AI & Digital Health, taking place September 14–17 in Chicago, healthcare executives and digital leaders from across the country will come together to explore how AI, interoperability, cybersecurity, and revenue cycle innovation are transforming care delivery, strengthening financial performance, and driving the next era of digital health. Apply for complimentary registration now.

Advertisement

Next Up in Financial Management

Advertisement

Comments are closed.