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State House Committee Restores & Maintains MHA
Priorities in FY 2009 Medicaid Budget
Hospitals Urged To Contact House Appropriations
Committee Members
On Tuesday, the fiscal year
(FY) 2009 Michigan Department of Community
Health (MDCH) budget was reported out of the
state House Appropriations Subcommittee on the
MDCH and now heads to the full House
Appropriations Committee for consideration. The
full committee is expected to vote on the MDCH
budget within the next few weeks.
As a result of the
unified grassroots efforts of the MHA and its
member hospitals, the House subcommittee
substitute restored and maintained several of
the MHA budget priorities. Funding and
eligibility for 19- and 20-year-olds, which was
eliminated in the budget passed by the Senate,
was restored in the House subcommittee
substitute. The restoration of this coverage
will allow more than 13,500 patients to maintain
health care coverage and will save the hospital
community nearly $9 million in treatment costs
in FY 2009.
Two key association
budget priorities were also successfully
achieved in the House subcommittee substitute —
the elimination of earmarks financed by the
hospital Quality Assurance Assessment Program (QAAP)
and the reduction of the state’s retention of
the hospital QAAP.
The State Budget Office
originally proposed to retain $126 million of
the hospital QAAP and the Senate-passed budget
proposed a $124 million retention. The House
subcommittee substitute included the MHA
retention request of $107 million and eliminated
all earmarking of funds generated by the
provider tax funded through the disproportionate
share hospital pool.
Additionally, the
subcommittee’s recommendations did not contain
any reductions to Medicaid provider rates,
graduate medical education funding, the
traditional disproportionate share hospital
line, or the $5 million disproportionate share
hospital payments.
Challenges Ahead
While the House MDCH
Appropriations Subcommittee budget substitute is
very positive news, the challenge for the MHA
and its members is to maintain what we have
achieved as the budget moves through the
legislative process.
Our challenge is magnified
due to the recent announcement that state
general fund revenues will be approximately $309
million less in FY 2009 than was estimated in
January 2008. The newly identified revenue
shortfall, coupled with the traditional
legislative hurdles, will further threaten
Medicaid funding and eligibility requirements.
Next Steps: Hospital Community
Must Respond
The MHA continues to work with Gov. Granholm
and state legislative leadership to maintain the
budget priorities contained in the House
subcommittee substitute. For our advocacy
efforts to succeed throughout the budget
process,
members of the House Appropriations Committee
need to hear from the hospital community!
Please contact members of the House
Appropriations Committee to urge them to
maintain:
-
current hospital
funding and programs
-
Medicaid
eligibility and coverage for 19- and
20-year-olds
-
the reduction of
the state’s retention of the hospital QAAP
to $107 million
-
the elimination
of appropriation earmarks financed by the
hospital QAAP
The following tools will assist you in
contacting House Appropriations Committee
members:
If you have any questions regarding this Action
Alert, please contact
David Finkbeiner at the MHA at (517)
703-8604.
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