Connecticut Hospitals Face $207M Cut in Budget Gap Proposal

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy's recent state budget proposal included a $207 million cut to hospitals in 2014 for uncompensated care funding, or about one-eighth of their $1.6 billion in total state funding, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.

"Hospitals will be hurt, I'm not going to deny that," Ben Barnes, secretary of Connecticut's Office of Policy and Management, told The Wall Street Journal, but he added the move would save the state over time.

Thousands of Connecticut residents would lose Medicaid coverage under the budget plan, which aims to close a $1.2 billion deficit, but Mr. Barnes said the federal health law will cover more uninsured individuals to reduce the need for uncompensated-care reimbursement.

Industry advocates disagreed.

"The administration has acknowledged that these cuts will hurt hospitals, but that is an understatement. Quite simply, it will devastate them," Jennifer Jackson, president and CEO of the Connecticut Hospital Association, told The Wall Street Journal.

More Articles on Uncompensated Care Reimbursement:

Health Reform in 2013: What's Happened, What's Left & What it Means for Providers
Identifying Patient Eligibility for Medicaid Programs Can Put a Big Dent in Hospitals' Uncompensated Care Costs
Ohio Hospitals Provide $3.1B in Community Benefit

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