Other Medical Assistance Issues
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett recently unveiled his proposed state FY 2014 budget. When he did, members of the Safety-Net Association of Pennsylvania (SNAP) immediately received a comprehensive memo outlining the governor’s budget proposal with an emphasis on the issues that matter most to the state’s 61 private safety-net hospitals.
Over a seven-day period, SNAP presents in this space the highlights of the governor’s budget, again with an emphasis on Medical Assistance and other matters of special interest to Pennsylvania’s safety-net hospitals. Today, SNAP takes a look at what the proposed budget says about Medical Assistance issues not addressed in parts one through four of this series.
The proposed budget calls for a number of other changes in Medical Assistance spending, including:
- New spending of $55.9 million in total funds for what has been labeled a “public-private collaboration project” under the outpatient budget that is offset by a $28.5 million savings within the same budget line.
- Savings in the inpatient, outpatient, and capitation (managed care/HealthChoices) budget lines associated with “audit enhancements.”
- Savings associated with the state outsourcing its third-party liability functions, including payment recovery.
- A doubling of state spending on information technology to bring Pennsylvania’s Medical Assistance eligibility systems and technology up to the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.
- An increase of $27 million for mental health services and $3.2 million for state mental health services block grant funding
- A savings of more than $8 million associated with instituting premiums for so-called loophole children who participate in the state’s PH-95 program for selected Pennsylvanians with autism.
Tomorrow: The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
