There has been much published in the various media lately regarding the Medicaid deficit in our state. The initial solutions that have been proffered to us include a hospital “assessment” and lowering payments to physicians for services to Medicaid patients.
Those who depend solely upon Medicaid already know the difficulty of getting treatment sometimes; lowering the already dismal reimbursement – a reverse tax – will only make that problem worse. Asking the hospitals to pay a tax might sound reasonable to some, but smaller, mostly rural hospitals that are in abundance in our state will suffer the most with this illogical tax.
The other proposal to decrease services to Medicaid recipients is not tenable either. There are problems still, but mama Medicaid’s corset is so tight now that either the dress is going to fit without any greater tension applied, or it’s time to accept that a bigger dress is needed.
Magnolia Tribune
