This report originally appeared in the May 2010 issue of DOTmed Business News

In the struggle to obtain funding for health care services and meet budget gaps, two state legislatures have introduced different approaches, each affecting hospitals. In Illinois, if Senate bill 3264 is passed into law it would help rural "critical access" hospitals with needed funding. The bill would provide that the Department of Healthcare and Family Services would reimburse critical access hospitals for outpatient services at the cost of providing such services, based on Medicare cost principles.

The bill is sponsored by state Sen. Gary Forby (D-Benton). Sen. Forby commented on his Facebook page that the bill has particular significance for the smaller rural hospitals in southern Illinois, "where many critical access hospitals are several miles from the nearest medical

facility and serve large areas of the state."

In Georgia, the legislature has approved a controversial tax on hospitals. HB 307 allows for the State to impose a provider payment in the amount of 1.45 percent of the net patient revenue of the hospital. The funds collected by the assessment are for the purpose of obtaining federal financial participation for medical assistance payments to providers on behalf of Medicaid recipients. The bill was part of Gov. Sonny Perdue's plan to fill the state budget gap. However, an added amendment to the Senate bill exempting insurers from a state premium tax has reportedly drawn the Governor's ire.

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