Theotine "Theo" Ulysse Dardar
June 23, 2009
Diana Benoit Toms
June 25, 2009
Tri-parish area hospitals will receive substantial reductions in Medicaid payments for the remainder of this year and next year unless legislators currently in session can find money to restore the cuts, according to information provided by the Louisiana Hospital Association.
Terrebonne General Medical Center in Houma, Thibodaux Regional Medical Center and Teche Regional Medical Center in Morgan City will endure $3.38 million in Medicaid payment reductions for the fiscal year 2009-10.
Terrebonne General would undergo the largest reduction in payments at $2.07 million, according to the data from the Louisiana Hospital Association. Thibodaux Regional would receive $942, 275 in cuts and Teche Regional will absorb $374,328.
“If the cuts as proposed by the (Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal) administration go through, there will be a reduction in hospital services and access to care,” said John Matessino, LHA president and CEO. “This is not the story of the boy who cried wolf. Hospitals cannot absorb this magnitude of cuts. The bayou area alone would face a loss of 81 jobs and Louisiana would lose nearly 4,000 jobs statewide.”
Medicaid payment reductions in Louisiana would total $193 million.
Legislators are trying to make up for the spending reductions during the final days of the 2009 session this week. Matessino was at the state Capitol on Monday to argue against the cuts, said his spokeswoman Michelle Clement.
The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals cut Medicaid payments by 7.16 percent in May and 3.5 percent in February in response to the budget deficit.
Twenty percent of Medicaid is funded with state money; the remainder is paid by the federal government.
The state is running a budget deficit of approximately $1.3 billion. Of the cuts being made to balance the budget, around 63 percent will come from health care and education, two areas that are not constitutionally protected from spending reductions.
In this year’s budget bill, the Louisiana Senate passed a measure tapping the state’s Rainy Day Trust Fund, or Budget Stabilization Fund, to restore a portion of the reduced Medicaid payments.
However, the House did not approve the use of the Rainy Day Fund, said state Sen. Reggie Dupre of Houma. A budget bill passed without tapping into it, he said.
Appropriations can be made from the Rainy Day Fund every second year, so the session ending this week offers the last chance to use the money, said state Rep. Damon Baldone of Houma.
Baldone said he favors using the Rainy Day Fund to compensate for the Medicaid spending reductions mainly because he does not want the state to forgo the federal matching money.
To pay for Medicaid this year, Matessino said in a news release that he wants the state to use money from a combination of the Rainy Day Fund and the Louisiana Medical Assistance Trust Fund, which is supported by fees assessed on healthcare providers and helps pay for the Medicaid program.
Representatives from area hospitals were not able to respond before press time.
Tri-parish area hospitals are braced for $3.38 million in Medicaid payment cuts for the 2009-10 fiscal year. Terrebonne General Medical Center stands to lose the most at $2.07 million, according to the Louisiana Hospital Association. * Photo by KEYON K. JEFF
