More help is coming to hospitals in Mississippi as state lawmakers continue to mull over a Medicaid expansion proposal.
Gov. Tate Reeves announced on Thursday that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) approved the second leg of his “sweeping Medicaid reimbursement reforms” intended to provide much-needed aid to medical centers in the state amid a financial crisis.
The proposal will supplement Medicaid base payment rates for hospitals by reimbursing inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the fee-for-service system up to the Medicare upper payment limit. A total of $160 million, $23 million more than the initial estimated figure of $137 million, has been given the green light to be divvied out to medical systems statewide.
“This is another good day for Mississippi’s healthcare system,” Reeves wrote on X. “Thanks to all of the medical professionals and healthcare leaders who helped get us to today.”
CMS has approved the second component of my Medicaid reimbursement reform plan.
This will result in an additional $160 million for hospitals across Mississippi, which is $23 million more than originally projected.
This is another good day for Mississippi’s healthcare system.…
— Governor Tate Reeves (@tatereeves) April 11, 2024
CMS approved the first portion of Reeves’ plan, also known as the Mississippi Hospital Access Program (MHAP), in December. Payments totaling $658 million were dispersed to hospitals across the state in mid-January.
MHAP provides direct payments to hospitals serving patients in the Mississippi Medicaid managed care delivery system. With the directed payments, hospitals are reimbursed near the average commercial rate, which has been considered the federal ceiling for Medicaid reimbursements.
In the meantime, the legislature is still debating a Medicaid expansion proposal. In late March, the Senate passed its plan to qualify residents between the ages of 19 and 64 up to 100 percent of the federal poverty level for extended coverage. Last week, the House invited the bill to be ironed out in conference.
Meanwhile, any Medicaid expansion plan would likely have to be veto-proof as Reeves remains an ardent opponent of what he considers to be an “extension of Obamacare.”
