Gov. Tate Reeves’ office Thursday announced that federal approval of the second component in Reeves’ Medicaid reimbursement reform plan, estimated to generate more than $700 million in additional funds for Mississippi hospitals.
“This is another good day for Mississippi’s healthcare system,” said Gov. Reeves. “This additional $160 million will go a long way towards further strengthening hospitals across our state. I’d like to thank all of the medical professionals and healthcare leaders who helped get us to today.”
The initiative, approved by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), will supplement Medicaid base payment rates for hospitals by reimbursing inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the fee-for-service system up to the Medicare upper payment limit. The estimated result is an additional $160 million for hospitals annually, which is $23 million more than originally projected.
Under the first component, approved by CMS in December, hospitals are reimbursed near the average commercial rate for services provided through the managed care delivery system, which has been considered the federal ceiling for Medicaid reimbursements in managed care.
Hospitals are projected to net an increase of $708 million annually through these initiatives, after accounting for the funds the hospitals make to help finance the initiatives.
The Mississippi Division of Medicaid is taking steps to deliver the first round of payments to hospitals in the coming weeks.
