Although the two parties have agreed on the rate increase after months of debate, the ultimate decision on the rate increase will be made by Maryland’s Health Services Cost Review Commission. The rate increase gives the hospitals 0.44 percentage points of the increase as an incentive to reduce readmissions in the 2011 fiscal year.
The parties sent the HSCRC a joint letter on Tuesday, notifying it that they had reached a consensus and asking it to postpone making a decision on the rates until the July 7 meeting, when they will present a more detailed proposal. The letter was signed by members of the Maryland Hospital Association, UnitedHealthcare, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, and John M. Colmers, secretary of Maryland’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The HSCRC agreed to the delay, even though it will make the new rates retroactive.
It is the HSCRC’s responsibility to keep Maryland hospital rates in check because of the state’s waiver system with federal insurers. Medicare and Medicaid pay the rates the state sets, even though they can be higher than other rates nationwide, as long as healthcare costs do not increase more quickly than the national Medicaid average.
Read the Daily Record report on the agreement.
See other Becker’s coverage on Maryland hospitals.
Maryland Hospitals Lower Proposed Rate Increase for Fiscal 2011
Maryland Shifts Medicaid Funding to Hospitals, Payors
Maryland’s Cost Review Commission Helps Rein in Hospital Costs
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