Health care providers prepare for transition

Obama’s healthcare reform bill passed by a narrow margin in the senate. A number of state attorney generals and a few Republican governors have joined a suit that challenges the constitutionality of the bill. Health care providers do not plan on relying for the bill to be overturned by the supreme court or repealed by a later Republican congress or administration. They are making plans now on how to handle the changes that the bill covers.

Hospitals face the largest challenge from losing Medicaid payments that help care for uninsured patients. Metrohealth, of Cleveland, Ohio received a $36.4 million dollar payment to help cover the cost of providing hospital care to people who do not have insurance. The new health care bill will phase out these payments by 2013. An additional number of insured patients may help make up for the loss o the payment, but the plan does not force people to cover health insurance until 2014.

Supporters of the bill point out that the bill allows doctors to charge higher rates to Medicaid and Medicare during the transition period. The rates are not scheduled to remain higher after that. The authors of the bill hope this measure will encourage doctors and hospitals to take more patients who receive Medicaid and Medicare.