New Medical Assistance Bulletin Addresses Hospital Uncompensated Care
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services has issued a new Medical Assistance Bulletin titled “Hospital Responsibilities Related to the Uncompensated Care Program and Charity Care Plans.”
According to the document,
The purpose of this Medical Assistance (MA) Bulletin is to remind hospitals of the requirements for the Hospital Uncompensated Care Program (Program) and reinforce the responsibility of hospitals to actively engage patients when determining eligibility for the Program.
See the entire Bulletin here.
Included in this edition are articles about:
Community HealthChoices is a new state program of managed long-term services and supports for Pennsylvanians over the age of 55 who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf has vetoed a bill that included a requirement that certain Medicaid recipients either work or search for work.
Among the possibilities state lawmakers are discussing: tighter rules for participation, greater efficiency, work and work search requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients, charging premiums for high-income families for which Medicaid provides coverage for their profoundly disabled children, and a pilot program to test whether a recipient care management program might eliminate medical errors, improve recipient health, and reduce health care costs.
Under the new criteria, patients with lower scores of severity of hepatitis C will become eligible for treatment. Previously, Medicaid patients were required to show more advanced signs of illness before the medicine was provided to them.