Bill would end county-funded safety net for NM’s rural hospitals
Sen. Nancy Rodriguez (D-Santa Fe) has introduced legislation that would cut counties’ obligation to pay into the Safety Net Care Pool fund.
- Andy Beale
- Digital Producer- Albuquerque Business First
Earlier this year, we reported that rural hospitals in New Mexico received a cash infusion which may have saved some of them from bankruptcy. Now, a new bill coming to the Roundhouse this session would take some of that funding away.
Rural hospitals in the state received a $210 million cash injection, with $140 million coming from increased Medicaid reimbursement rates and the remaining $70 million coming from the Safety Net Care Pool, which is a combination of county and federal funding that reimburses hospitals for uncompensated care, such as that given to indigent patients.
Smaller rural hospitals have a greater need for Safety Net Care Pool funds, because they care for fewer patients and therefore each patient given uncompensated care represents a bigger percentage-point loss for the hospital. Albuquerque Business First reported in June that the cash injection saved some hospitals from closing their doors altogether.
Read more here: http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2015/01/08/bill-would-end-county-funded-safety.html