State legislators passed a law to enact the fee earlier this year. Under the law, hospitals are required to pay a fee of 1.52 percent of their operating expenses this year and 1.61 percent of their operating expenses in the following year, according to the report.
The fee is intended to help the state balance its budget and will be used to obtain federal Medicaid matching funds, which should increase Medicaid payments to hospitals.
Ohio’s Job and Family Services Department expects hospitals to pay more than $709 million over the two years and receive more than $825 million in return, according to the report.
The hospital industry, however, is skeptical. The Ohio Hospital Association says that the fee is an additional burden on hospital in the state. The group estimates that Ohio hospitals will pay approximately $718 million in fees over the next two years but will only recoup $573 million, according to the report.
Read the Akron Beacon Journal’s report on the Ohio hospital fee.
