30 Ways in 30 Days: Hospital Funding

Health Care May Be Harder to Find with Budget Cuts

Governor's budget would cut nearly $78 million in Medicaid funding to hospitals, while a Senate-passed plan would slash nearly $280 million.

HARRISBURG (June 22, 2009) - In March, Temple University Health System in Philadelphia announced that it would close inpatient programs at Northeastern Hospital effective July 1. Another victim of the recession.

Hospital officials say proposed Medicaid reimbursement cuts for the 2009-10 Fiscal Year could make health care that much harder to find in Pennsylvania.

Governor Ed Rendell proposed reducing Medicaid funding to hospitals by $77.9 million, while Senate Bill 850 would make cuts of $279.5 million.

Kenneth J. Braithwaite, the regional executive for the Delaware Valley Healthcare Council, told The Philadelphia Business Journal in a story last week that such cuts are coming at the worst time for hospitals, as they struggle in this down economy. He cited the closing of inpatient services at Northeastern Hospital as an example. Read the Business Journal article here.

In Williamsport, Susquehanna Health is facing the potential loss of $800,000 for its three hospitals in supplemental Medicaid funding, according to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette.

"The Legislature needs to work with the governor to find ways to overcome the financial shortfall," Susquehanna President and CEO Steven P. Johnson told the newspaper. "Cutting Medical Assistance funding to providers is not the place to find budget cuts."

Read the Sun-Gazette story here.

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