Report: More Medicaid cuts would hurt Nevada hospitals

WASHINGTON -- Hospitals in Nevada are in poor shape to absorb further cuts in Medicaid spending that would be likely if Congress restructures the health insurance program, an industry official said Thursday.

Twenty of the 33 hospitals in the state are losing money, and insufficient Medicaid reimbursements are a factor, said Dwight Hansen, director of financial services for the Nevada Hospital Association.

Hansen said following a 5 percent cut in Medicaid payments enacted by the Legislature in 2008, Nevada hospitals are being reimbursed only 58 cents for every dollar of care they provide to low-income patients who participate in the federal-state health program.

A proposal in Congress that would convert federal Medicaid funding into block grants likely to shift more responsibility to states "would result in further reductions in Medicaid rates paid to hospitals," Hansen said.

"The only choice hospitals have is to begin reducing available services, and that in turn means the loss of hospital jobs," he said.

Hansen took part in the release of a report by Families USA, an advocacy group that generally supports Democratic initiatives on health care.

The group said a Medicaid block grant proposal embodied in a budget formed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and passed by the Republican-controlled House earlier this year could mean as many as 5,480 job losses in Nevada over a decade.

Republicans say changes in Medicaid are necessary to stem fast-growing costs. They contend the block grants would be "tailored to meet state needs," and that states could offer care at less cost once freed of federal regulations.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., who voted against the Ryan budget, said Nevada's depressed economy leaves little room for sweeping changes in health care.

"The people I represent are in a world of hurt, and this would only add to their misery," Berkley said. "With the economy in the position it is in, the idea that we would be sacrificing jobs is ludicrous to me."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.