The cut will help fill shortfalls in the state budget, which came up $2 billion short last year, according to the report.
Under the proposed budget, state Medicaid payments would be reduced by $31.9 million, which would induce an additional $41.5 million in federal matching funds.
The Hospital and Health System Association of Pennsylvania is disappointed with the proposed cuts.
“At a time when Medicaid enrollment is increasing and more people are losing health insurance due to unemployment, payments to hospitals who are the healthcare safety net for these Pennsylvanians cannot be cut,” Carolyn F. Scanlan, president and CEO of HAP, said in a statement. “With the potential infusion of approximately $850 million in additional federal Medicaid dollars, it is essential that those funds be used for their intended purpose — to ensure continued patient access to hospital care — and not diverted to fill holes elsewhere in the state budget.”
Read the Philadelphia Business Journal’s report on the Pennsylvania Medicaid cuts.
Read the HAP’s statement on the proposed Medicaid cuts.
