Medicaid changes would give UMC more money

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 11:14 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- The Legislative Interim Finance Committee today approved a program that will mean an extra $21 million cash infusion for debt-ridden University Medical Center.

The hospital has been operated at a $2.5 million to $3.5 million deficit each month, Clark County representative Mike Alastuey said. The county has taken steps to lower operating expenses by $10 million.

"This will help the hospital handle its cash flow problem," said Alastuey after the action by the committee. But it does not stop the major financial problems of the hospital, he said. "This is strictly a cash infusion."

The finance committee approved a change in the state's Medicaid program to take advantage of a federal law to let the state pay higher rates for Medicaid patients. Under the plan, UMC and public hospitals in rural Nevada contributed the state's share in Medicaid in order to get back the higher federal government reimbursement.

The state did not put any of its money into new plan, but its net benefit will be $6 million over a two-year period. The higher reimbursement stretches back to January 2002.

Alastuey said UMC will contribute an extra $30 million to the Medicaid program and get back $51 million for the period from January 2002 to July 2003. This money is for treating Medicaid patients.

The hospitals in rural Nevada will get about $800,000 after contributing an estimated $400,000.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, expressed concern that the change will increase the rate of reimbursements to the hospitals involved. If the federal government abandoned the program, Raggio wondered if the state would have to pay the higher reimbursement rate.

Alastuey told the committee that if that happened UMC would "revisit" the issue.

State Human Resources Director Mike Willden said the state would be cutting the check for most of the extra funds for UMC within the next week.