In months-long negotiations over an increase in how much the state's hospitals can charge patients for care beginning July 1, the Maryland Hospital Association has backed off its stance to raise rates more than 3%. At a meeting between hospitals, insurers, and representatives of the state agency that regulates hospitals, the MHA lowered its proposed pay hike of 2.95%, said Mike Robbins, the group's senior vice president of financing. The MHA had called for a 3.28% increase.
