The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services plans to slash Medicaid payments to hospitals in the state by $6.3 million in fiscal year 2010 and by nearly $21 million in FY 2011, according to a report by AHANewsNow.
The cuts are intended to close projected shortfalls in the program's budget caused by increased Medicaid enrollment. The expected cuts include both state cuts and the loss of federal matching funds, which will likely expire in 2011.
The New Hampshire Hospital Association said in a statement that it is "disappointed" with the expected cuts.
"Medicaid reimbursement fails to cover the cost of the care hospitals provide," New Hampshire Hospital Association President Steve Ahnen said in the statement. "In balancing the budget on the backs of hospitals, the state continues to ask hospitals to do more with less. Hospitals face their own challenges as they strive to meet the needs of their patients and communities in spite of current economic strains."
Read AHANewsNow's report on New Hampshire Medicaid cuts.
Read the NHHA's statement on the New Hampshire Medicaid cuts.