Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Leaders from the Texas Hospital Association and other hospital groups today urged members of the Texas House of Representatives to protect funding for local hospitals doctors and nurses.
The House later this week is expected to begin consideration of its proposed version of the state budget for the next biennium a proposal that could mean funding cuts of as much as 37 percent for some hospitals.
Our message is simple: hospitals are on call 24/7. The blue H sign you see as you drive along the highway or on city streets promises help and hope. But that promise is in jeopardy if the cuts proposed by budget writers in the House are approved" said Dan Stultz M.D. FACHE FACP president and chief executive officer of the Texas Hospital Association. The proposed budget before the House cuts into the core. Hospital services and jobs will be lost and not just temporarily. These cuts wont heal."
Among the proposed budget cuts that would impact health care and especially hospitals are the following:
· A 10 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals nursing homes and physicians;
· Expansion of Medicaid managed care which could jeopardize access to federal supplemental Upper Payment Limit funds;
· Some $225 million in Medicaid cost containment measures" many of which are directed at hospitals for each year of the biennium;
· Total lack of funding to replace the $4.3 billion in federal stimulus funds set to expire later this year;
· Reduced funding to designated trauma centers EMS and ambulance providers from $70 million per year to $57 million per year; and
· Reducing the nursing shortage fund from $49.7 million to $15 million.
Bill Webster chief executive officer of Medical Center Health System in Odessa and chairman of the THA board noted that state cuts as proposed by the House would result in shifting more costs to the local level which could mean higher local taxes. State cuts will also mean the loss of federal matching dollars which means our Texas tax dollars will go to pay for health care in other states like California and New York. The cost will also shift to people with health insurance" he said.
Low-income children and pregnant women dont stop needing health care just because the state didnt budget enough. If they cant find a doctor or a clinic they come to the ER where by state and federal law our hospital must assess and stabilize them" Webster continued.
Rural hospitals and childrens hospitals which are heavily dependent on government programs like Medicaid will be especially hard hit. Rural hospitals which often operate on razor-thin margins may be forced to drop key services such as obstetrics or close altogether.
Stultz warned that Texas risks losing its reputation as an economic powerhouse as deep cuts in health care create a ripple effect throughout local communities and local businesses.
Hospitals will do their part to improve performance and reduce costs through better efficiency. But the big problem in Medicaid is the growth in caseload due to the states demographics and the continued economic downturn" Stultz said. When the state fails to adequately fund health care services the burden is shifted to local taxpayers and to private employers who provide health insurance for their employees. The need for health care does not disappear even if funding does."
THA urged lawmakers to look at other options to help mitigate funding cuts including generating additional revenue using more of the rainy day fund fixing the structural problems in the business tax system and modifying tax exemptions.
Hospitals statewide will be contacting members of the Texas House of Representatives all week to urge them to mitigate the proposed cuts in the House budget.
THA also has launched a website www.SomeCutsDontHeal.org to inform the general public about the impact of proposed state budget cuts on health care.
Texas Insider Report: AUSTIN Texas Leaders from the Texas Hospital Association and other hospital groups today urged members of the Texas House of Representatives to protect funding for local hospitals doctors and nurses.
The House later this week is expected to begin consideration of its proposed version of the state budget for the next biennium a proposal that could mean funding cuts of as much as 37 percent for some hospitals.
Our message is simple: hospitals are on call 24/7. The blue H sign you see as you drive along the highway or on city streets promises help and hope. But that promise is in jeopardy if the cuts proposed by budget writers in the House are approved" said Dan Stultz M.D. FACHE FACP president and chief executive officer of the Texas Hospital Association. The proposed budget before the House cuts into the core. Hospital services and jobs will be lost and not just temporarily. These cuts wont heal."
Among the proposed budget cuts that would impact health care and especially hospitals are the following:
· A 10 percent cut in Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals nursing homes and physicians;
· Expansion of Medicaid managed care which could jeopardize access to federal supplemental Upper Payment Limit funds;
· Some $225 million in Medicaid cost containment measures" many of which are directed at hospitals for each year of the biennium;
· Total lack of funding to replace the $4.3 billion in federal stimulus funds set to expire later this year;
· Reduced funding to designated trauma centers EMS and ambulance providers from $70 million per year to $57 million per year; and
· Reducing the nursing shortage fund from $49.7 million to $15 million.
Bill Webster chief executive officer of Medical Center Health System in Odessa and chairman of the THA board noted that state cuts as proposed by the House would result in shifting more costs to the local level which could mean higher local taxes. State cuts will also mean the loss of federal matching dollars which means our Texas tax dollars will go to pay for health care in other states like California and New York. The cost will also shift to people with health insurance" he said.
Low-income children and pregnant women dont stop needing health care just because the state didnt budget enough. If they cant find a doctor or a clinic they come to the ER where by state and federal law our hospital must assess and stabilize them" Webster continued.
Rural hospitals and childrens hospitals which are heavily dependent on government programs like Medicaid will be especially hard hit. Rural hospitals which often operate on razor-thin margins may be forced to drop key services such as obstetrics or close altogether.
Stultz warned that Texas risks losing its reputation as an economic powerhouse as deep cuts in health care create a ripple effect throughout local communities and local businesses.
Hospitals will do their part to improve performance and reduce costs through better efficiency. But the big problem in Medicaid is the growth in caseload due to the states demographics and the continued economic downturn" Stultz said. When the state fails to adequately fund health care services the burden is shifted to local taxpayers and to private employers who provide health insurance for their employees. The need for health care does not disappear even if funding does."
THA urged lawmakers to look at other options to help mitigate funding cuts including generating additional revenue using more of the rainy day fund fixing the structural problems in the business tax system and modifying tax exemptions.
Hospitals statewide will be contacting members of the Texas House of Representatives all week to urge them to mitigate the proposed cuts in the House budget.
THA also has launched a website www.SomeCutsDontHeal.org to inform the general public about the impact of proposed state budget cuts on health care.
