Lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Wednesday gave final approval to budget-related legislation that boosts Medicaid subsidies for hospitals and ambulance services. The bill passed the House 199-4 and heads to Gov. Josh Shapiro's desk. It passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday, as partisans have clashed over some remaining elements of the state's $45 billion budget plan since July. Under the bill, lawmakers reauthorized an assessment on hospitals that's expected to draw down roughly $1.4 billion in matching federal Medicaid dollars this year.
This action follows the growth in Medicaid patients growing to two million after the pandemic. Beacon aims to move Medicaid patients from seven of Beacon's primary care practices, some within St. Joseph, Elkhart and LaPorte, by partnering with Heart Linc and Heart City Health to transfer these patients.
The company did not specify how many shares it plans to offer or what share price it is targeting. Waystar manages medical billing for approximately 30,000 clients, representing around 1 million different providers and almost 50% of patients in the United States.
State lawmakers are holding rallies across the state to get support for legislation regarding ambulance billing that is now on the governor's desk waiting to be signed. Area representatives said the new bill called "direct pay" would streamline the process for reimbursing ambulance service providers and "remove unnecessary burdens from patients."
Last year’s operating losses totaled over $2 billion for hospitals across the state, according to the Washington State Hospital Association. This year, things are looking slightly better. Losses in the first six months of 2023 slowed, compared to the previous year, according to survey results released by the Association this week. But concerns remain.
A last ditch effort to save St. Mark’s Medical Center failed this week, forcing the only hospital in Fayette County to close amid ongoing financial struggles. The 18-year-old hospital announced last week that it would close on Thursday, eliminating more than 50 full and part-time jobs in La Grange, a rural town of about 4,400 people.