Medicaid reimbursements lagging in Texas
Several major issues serve as roadblocks for Texas hospitals.
According to comments made by Texas Health and Human Services Commissioner Tom Suehs last month, the state will likely face a $15 billion to $17 billion deficit for the state’s Medicaid funding. Making matters worse, a new five-year Medicaid waiver program implemented by the state has created a logjam for reimbursement payments from the federal government for Medicaid services rendered within Texas hospitals.
For University Medical Center, located in El Paso, the issues pose a major threat. State Medicaid funding has already been cut throughout Texas at a rate of 8 percent, and previous estimates showed that number would result in a shortfall of $20 million to $22 million for the hospital. Pair that with the lag of federal payments for Medicaid work, and it’s easy to see that UMC, like many other public hospitals, needed an answer.
On Tuesday, state Sen. Jose Rodriguez, D-El Paso, obtained a sit-down meeting between himself, UMC CEO Jim Valenti, and Commissioner Tom Suehs. The three men discussed the issues surrounding the lag in federal payments caused by the new Medicaid plan which, in theory, is in place, but has yet to have its rules approved by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, a federal agency charged with overseeing the state’s new Medicaid waiver plan.
“This is critical because that is the only way our hospital can fully operate and continue delivering high-quality service,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said the loss of federal dollars would mean a loss of revenue. While the health care work was done with payments expected over time, the money wasn’t making its way to El Paso.
“(We’re) just like any other company, you need revenue coming in so you can pay for the salaries, equipment and supplies for hospitals,” said Valenti.
Valenti told ABC-7 that Suehs has agreed to talk to CMS this week to urge them to expedite payments to UMC. The estimated amount of money that would be expedited is $20 million for services rendered.
