Mississippi's hospitals won't continue to fight a Medicaid tax that originally raised hackles when it was introduced in 2009, reported The Associated Press.
The state's hospitals pay about $200 million a year in this tax, which is used to leverage greater matching funds from the state's Medicaid program. Although Mississippi acute care providers initially protested the tax, it has provided a consistency in Medicaid revenues that has since calmed them.
"It's no question that it has cost us some financial negative impact for some of the hospitals," said Sam Cameron, CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association, noted the AP. "But very honestly, without it, the funding of the Medicaid program would not be there."
The tax is set to expire at the end of June. New Gov. Phil Bryant said he supports a tax renewal because the state could not replace the lost revenue should the tax expire.
To learn more:
- read the AP article
- here's the MHA report on the economic impact of the state's hospitals