Bulletin Board
Bulletin Board
The Implications of New Limits on Medicaid Provider Taxes
Last year’s federal budget reconciliation law, in addition to introducing nearly a trillion dollars in federal health care spending cuts over the next decade, took aim at a tool state governments consider vital in financing their Medicaid programs: provider taxes. For years, states have used provider taxes, typically on some aspect of hospital activity, to help finance their share of their Medicaid programs; currently, 49 of the 50 states have such taxes. Among other benefits, using provider taxes in this manner has enabled states to avoid using more general fund [...]
Infants, Toddlers Increasingly Dependent on Public Health Insurance
A new study highlights the growing dependence of families on public health insurance programs – Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program – to pay for care for their infants and children. According to a new analysis by the Georgetown University McCourt School for Public Policy, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) cover 4 in 10 (39.7%) children under age 3. For families earning less than 200% of the federal poverty level—about $54,640 for a family of three—Medicaid and CHIP are even more critical sources of coverage, insuring [...]
Federal Health Policy Update for August 20
Don’t Miss: Latest No Surprises Act/Independent Dispute Resolution news Dept of Homeland Security issues guidance on “public charge” The following is the latest health policy news from the federal government for August 14-20. Some of the language used below is taken directly from government documents. Congress Thirty Senate Democrats have written to HHS Secretary Kennedy seeking to reverse the cancellation of health research grants administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). For more information, see the letter here. Congress remains in recess; the House is expected to [...]
Non-Profit Hospitals Struggled in 2025, Moody’s Finds
The financial performance of non-profit hospitals weakened in 2025, according to Moody’s, the financial rating service company. According to Moody’s: Median operating margins fell from 1.3 percent in 2024 to 1.2 percent in 2025. Median operating income fell 13.3 percent. Revenue growth fell from 9.6 percent to 8.9 percent. Expenses continued to grow, driven by increased wages and rising costs for purchased services and prescription drugs. On the other hand, Moody’s also found that: Revenue growth outpaced rising expenses. Patient and pharmacy activity grew. Hospitals in some states benefited from [...]
Analysis Puts Price Tag on Loss of Medicaid State Directed Payments
Thirty-seven states face the loss of significant federal Medicaid revenue depending on how the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services ultimately implements a provision in the 2025 reconciliation bill that called for new limits on so-called state directed payments – Medicaid money the states direct to their Medicaid managed care plans with instructions on how to use that money. The 2025 law calls for nearly a trillion dollars in reduced federal Medicaid spending and $60 billion of that cut could result from new limits on state directed Medicaid payments to [...]