Georgia plans to raise more than $225 million a year by levying a 1.45% tax on hospital and ambulatory surgical center net patient revenues. About $50 million of the so-called "bed tax" will go toward increasing how much hospitals are paid for treating Medicaid patients. The state will use the remainder, or $175 million, to pay for Medicaid services.
In exchange for the tax, hospitals will get a higher rate of Medicaid reimbursement. But that same benefit does not apply to the state's 303 ASCs, which could pay out $25,000 to $35,000 per year. "That is a lot of money, especially when you've got heavily negotiated managed care contracts that pay nickels on the dollar compared to hospital reimbursement for the same procedures," says Gayle R. Evans, RN MBA, CNOR, CASC, president of Continuum Healthcare Consultants in Kennesaw, Ga.
The bill as passed by the House Rules Committee can be viewed here. It is scheduled to take effect July 1. Lawmakers stressed that the new fee cannot be passed on to patients.
Dan O'Connor
