The Federal Emergency Management Agency has denied an appeal by the Nueces County Hospital District (NCHS) seeking reimbursement for a $503,000 study looking at the overall health of the county, as well as COVID-19's impact on the community.
Hospitals and nursing homes in New York could receive a higher reimbursement rate under a tentative agreement in the state budget.
But a broader deal for a state spending plan was not finalized on Thursday, and state lawmakers have left Albany for the next several days as issues addressing climate change are yet to be locked down.
Momentum is building in Congress to address the way hospitals charge more for the same services private doctors deliver in their offices — a sign of broader lawmaker frustration with the industry.
State lawmakers want Medicaid officials to seek federal approval and begin reimbursing for work that connects patients to resources that affect overall health.
The hospital in Malone is applying to change its federal designation, a move officials say could bring in an additional $3 to $4.5 million dollars a year in revenue.
Leaders at Alice Hyde Medical Center want the facility reclassified by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a critical access hospital. That means it’ll get reimbursed 101% for services it provides to patients insured by federal programs like Medicare.
Since 2010, a reported 140 rural hospitals have closed their doors, including a record 19 hospitals in 2020 alone as a result of the financial pressures of COVID-19 compounded by many other long-standing challenges facing these health systems.