Leaders from 108 Wisconsin hospitals and health systems are seeking $185 million a year from the state's budget surplus to curb Medicaid losses.
In a May 22 letter to the state's joint committee on finance, the Wisconsin Hospital Association asked lawmakers to cover hospitals' Medicaid costs by contributing $185 million a year. The WHA said that $185 million — less than 25 percent of the existing Medicaid surplus and less than 3 percent of the existing general fund surplus — "would cut our Medicaid losses in half."
"Wisconsin's hospitals are under significant financial pressure caused by exploding costs in labor and supplies, while reimbursement from commercial insurance companies and government programs remains relatively flat," WHA President and CEO Eric Borgerding said. "The financial pressures caused by this unsustainable combination have already resulted in the reduction of care or significant delays for patients. That is why reimbursement for hospital services provided to those in Wisconsin's Medicaid program needs to remain a priority for lawmakers in Madison. Simply shifting the program's unpaid costs onto others is not an option."
Click here to read the letter in full.