Medicaid: Ongoing Federal Oversight of Payments to Offset Uncompensated Hospital Care Costs Is Warranted

United States. Government Accountability Office.

United States. Government Accountability Office.

关键词: Government accountability -- United States.;    justice and law enforcement;    health care;    budget and spending;    medicaid;   

RP-ID  :  GAO-10-69
RP-ID  :  298766

美国|英语

来源: UNT Digital Library

【 摘 要 】

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "In addition to standard Medicaid payments, hospitals receive supplemental payments for uncompensated costs of care provided to uninsured and Medicaid patients. These supplemental payments are referred to as disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments. Hospitals may also receive non-DSH supplemental payments. In fiscal year 2006, DSH payments totaled about $17 billion and non-DSH supplemental payments exceeded $6 billion. Hospitals' DSH payments are limited to their uncompensated care costs, that is, their costs for covered care less Medicaid and other payments. Concerns have been raised about the accuracy of DSH payment limits, particularly as states may estimate limits using data that are not audited or up to date. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine (1) how state DSH payments in 2006 compared to DSH payment limits, and (2) certain aspects of states' calculations of 2006 DSH payment limits. In selected states, GAO analyzed state Medicaid payment data and interviewed officials from the states and from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that oversees Medicaid."