The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has secured $984 million in annual funding to support private hospitals across the state, according to the office of Governor Greg Abbott.
Four things to know, per Becker’s:
1. The funds will support hundreds of hospitals through Medicaid Graduate Medical Education supplemental payments and the Hospital Augmented Reimbursement Program. Many of the payments will go towards rural hospitals along the border.
2. The funding comes after HHSC submitted requests to CMS to amend the state Medicaid plan and allow payments to privately owned or operated hospitals.
3. The estimated $875 million through HARP payments are for private hospitals that provide inpatient and outpatient services for Texas Medicaid beneficiaries. The estimated $109 million in annual GME payments supports teaching hospitals that operate state-approved medical residency training programs.
4. CMS has approved the GME program retroactively to April 1, 2019, and the HARP program retroactively to Oct. 1, 2021. HHSC requested CMS to amend the Medicaid state plan for the GME program in 2019 and the HARP program in 2021, but were left pending with CMS disagreeing on the source of the state’s share of matching funds for HARP and GME payments, according to the news release.
