July 19, 2011 in News

Hospitals sue state over Medicaid cuts

• Print
• Email
• Share

The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) has sued the state for cutting Medicaid payments.

The lawsuit filed Monday claims that the Legislature raided money from a dedicated fund to help pay medical bills accrued by the poor and instead will route the money into the state’s general fund.

WSHA said the move creates an unconstitutional tax on hospital patients. The suit, filed in Seattle, outlines a special assessment the Legislature approved in 2010 to collect $200 per day per hospital patient. The money would be matched by federal funds and together would help stabilize Medicaid funding for hospitals and award the state extra cash to help alleviate last year’s budget crunch.

Then this year, the Legislature, facing more budget shortfalls, cut the Medicaid payments to hospitals but kept the assessment in place, using the money to preserve program and ease deeper cuts.

WSHA alleges this action turned the assessment into an illegal tax. It has asked a King County Superior Court judge to restore the Medicaid funding to hospitals as originally designed in 2010, or stop collecting the assessment.

Two comments on this story so far. Add yours!

• 

  de3 on July 19 at 12:11 p.m.

  How hospitals operate is a mystery. My Mom underwent what is usually an outpatient surgical procedure and due to her age, she was kept in the hospital over night. Total billings including the hospital, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and mystery charges came to about $42,000.

  After mystery “insurance adjustments”, the total bill ended up around $28,000. Or $1,000 per hour or between $16 and $17 per minute spent in the hospital.

  Where does all that money go?

• 

  Diana on July 19 at 1:41 p.m.

  To run the hospital, pay the employees and cover the uninsured who go to the emergency department for emergency and non-emergency treatment?