Dive Brief:
- The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) changed its position last week to support a bed tax, which would give Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) a possible path toward Medicaid expansion.
- The association has previously opposed additional fees, which in this case, would require hospitals and nursing homes to pay a percentage of their revenue in accordance with the number of beds at their facility.
- The tax would draw a federal match, which would allow the combined funding to expand Medicaid under the ACA without state money.
Dive Insight:
The turnaround on a provider assessment marks a big moment for hospitals, but it could still be opposed by the state legislature--especially if tied to Medicaid expansion. Virginia currently remains one of 21 states that have not expanded their Medicaid programs.
“Arriving at this moment did not come easily,” VHHA President Sean T. Connaughton wrote to McAuliffe. “However the mounting financial burden of diminished reimbursements, increased uncompensated care, and federal funding cuts necessitate the exploration of even the previously unthinkable. The status quo is simply unsustainable.”
The state's Republican legislative leaders said Thursday they would block any attempts to expand Medicaid, arguing it's already too expensive to the state.
“I fully expect Medicaid to be embedded in the budget,” House Appropriations Chairman S. Chris Jones (R-Suffolk) told the Washington Post. “We’re prepared to deal with it by removing it from the budget.”