Just what we need in Massachusetts: higher taxpayer funded healthcare spending.
I admit to being very confused with what the Massachusetts Acorn union is asking for in its May 2013 PR and advertising campaign. The press release from the SEIU local rambles incoherently for about eight paragraphs but concludes:
"Under a budget amendment (#598) proposed by 1199SEIU and supported by a growing number of state senators, hospitals that see a higher percentage of Medicaid and Medicare patients would be slated to receive a larger portion of new Medicaid funds."
So I guess -- in the Acorn union's view as well as in the view of the half dozen political hacks in the Massachusetts Senate supporting the union -- there is (1) some link between Medicaid and Medicare spending at hospitals and (2) there is something called "new Medicaid funds" for the political hacks to divvy up among favored constituents.
What the amendment proposes exactly is to add the following words onto some existing law:
"provided further, that notwithstanding any general law, rule, regulation, or special act to the contrary, the Office of Medicaid shall expend from this item and/or from item 4000-0500 to provide an additional 10% of its Standard Payment Amount per Discharge (SPAD) or of reimbursement provided under any subsequent inpatient payment methodologies to any acute care hospital that has greater than 63% of its gross patient service revenue from governmental payers and free care as determined by EOHHS; and provided further, that the Office of Medicaid shall also expend from this item and/or from item 4000-0500 to provide an additional 10% of its Standard Payment Amount per Discharge (SPAD) or of reimbursement provided under any subsequent inpatient payment methodologies to any acute care hospital that that has greater than 63% of its gross patient service revenue from governmental payers and free care as determined by EOHHS and that also has greater than 10% of its Medicaid inpatient discharges for behavioral services; provided further, that such additional payments shall be paid directly to each such qualifying acute care hospital”
So increased Massachusetts taxpayer-funded Medicaid spending will be linked to Medicare admissions (or discharges to use the specific wording of the amendment; at least, if you die in the hospital because one of these Acorn union workers screws up, they won't count you). You seniors who have paid your own way with massive and increasing Medicare and federal income taxes over your working lifetime wil fund this decrepit union depending on what hospital you decide to go to. The insulting attitude toward seniors by Massachusetts' politicians -- constantly mixing up Medicaid with Medicare -- continues.
Oh by the way, despite the Acorn union's PR and advertising wording, there are apparently no "new Medicaid funds."