Illinois safety-net hospitals face potentially significant Medicaid funding changes as efforts to update the state's hospital assessment program are ongoing, according to a Chicago Tribune report.
Here are four things to know.
1. Illinois hospitals currently receive about $3.5 billion in Medicaid funding via the state's hospital assessment program. Hospitals financially contribute to the fund and, after a federal match, receive Medicaid funding back through a formula that accounts for various factors such as size of their Medicaid population and dependence on Medicaid funding, according to the report. Safety-net hospitals are particularly affected by the hospital assessment since they typically see a greater number of Medicaid patients.
2. The current formula is more than 10 years old and uses 2005 inpatient data and 2009 outpatient data to determine the amount hospitals pay to and receive from the fund, according to the Chicago Tribune. Therefore, the publication reports, officials argue it is not reflective of changes that have occurred in the last decade, such as Medicaid expansion.
3. The current assessment program is set to expire at the end of June. However, the Illinois Health and Hospital Association worked on a program redesign. The association developed a new model to update the Medicaid funding formula and, in collaboration with the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services and the state legislature's bipartisan Medicaid working group, is trying to get a bill drafted, according to the report.
4. The Chicago Tribune reports the Illinois General Assembly has to approve the plan, and CMS subsequently must give the final OK before the plan is implemented. The Illinois legislature is expected to vote in the next two months. According to the report, those who drafted the bill seek to ensure if a new plan is not in place by July, the current assessment will remain effective until a new plan gains approval.
Read the full Chicago Tribune report here.
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