Facing concerns from hospitals worried over possible reductions in Medicaid reimbursements, the state can meet a July 1 deadline to change the mechanism by which health providers are paid for medical procedures, state Medicaid director Justin Senior told a Senate panel Wednesday.
Speaking to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, Senior said agency studies show most hospitals in South Florida and other metropolitan areas may see their Medicaid revenues increase when the state shifts to DRGs, Diagnosis Related Groups, in determining Medicaid payments.
Hospital officials, especially those at teaching or children’s hospitals, worry of lower payments and have requested that the new funding protocol be phased in over a year or more.
Senior reiterated his confidence that the shift could take place July 1 as planned.
Critics of the plan said they were not given enough time or information to properly participate.
Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, urged stakeholders to get together and iron out concerns amongst themselves.
