Ohio House Speaker proposes balancing hospital fees with higher Medicaid reimbursement rates

A new plan proposed Tuesday by Ohio House Speaker Armond Budish would impose even higher fees on Ohio hospitals than what is being proposed by Gov. Ted Strickland, but would soften the blow by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals (Source: “Speaker's hospital proposal may top the governor's,” Columbus Dispatch, April 14, 2009).

Strickland’s budget proposal calls for increased fees on the state’s hospitals and other Medicaid service providers, with the additional revenue used to make up the state’s share of program costs. The Governor’s plan has been strongly opposed by the Ohio Hospital Association, which estimates that the fee would cost hospitals in the state $410 million and lead to 6,800 layoffs.

It is estimated that by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rate, the Budish plan would cost hospitals $200 million less than the governor’s proposal.