Missouri Hospitals Will Lose Funds From A Provision Of The Affordable Care Act

Intro:	Missouri will soon face hundreds of millions in cuts to some of its hospitals, regardless of whether or not lawmakers decide to expand Medicaid.
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Wrap: The Affordable Care Act calls for reductions in payments that reimburse hospitals serving large numbers of underinsured and uninsured patients.

They're called "dish" payments and they help hospitals close gaps in revenue lost from caring for these patients.

But the federal government decided to cut the payments before the Supreme Court ruled states would not be forced to expand Medicaid.

Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon says state health decisions will have to consider this impending effect.

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Description: "If they are not made in a way that puts more people in insurance, then this portion, the DSH cuts, could have a dramatic effect, because there is not a corresponding new coverage."

The Health and Human Services Department will make the first dish cuts in 2014.

From the State Capitol, I'm Nick Thompson.

Intro:	Missouri hospitals are some of the biggest recipients of federal health payments that Washington will start slashing in 2014.
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OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: The Health and Human Services Department will make its first set of cuts to "dish" payments in 2014.

Missouri received the 7th most dish funding in the country in 2011.

The payments go to states to reimburse hospitals serving large numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients, helping them shoulder the costs of uncompensated care.

Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon says the Medicaid expansion in the Affordable Care Act was designed to curtail the effect of the cuts.

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Description: "So that's kind of the logic. You can remove some of the risk for those hospitals that are exposed to the uninsured by insuring more people. Therefore, you could reduce the DSH payment."

Hundreds of millions could get cut from dish beginning in 2014.

From the State Capitol, I'm Nick Thompson.

Intro:	A Provision of the Affordable Care Act will soon cut hundreds of millions in payments to Missouri hospitals
RunTime:	0:48
OutCue:	SOC

Wrap: In 2014, the federal government will start cutting "dish" payments. They're payments to hospitals serving large numbers of uninsured and underinsured patients.

The payments help hospitals shoulder the cost of uncompensated care.

The cuts in the payments were supposed to complement the expansion of Medicaid coverage in the federal law.

But after the Supreme Court ruled states could not be forced to expand Medicaid, some hospitals may face shortfalls in funding when dish cuts take effect.

Missouri Hospital Association spokesman Dave Dillon says state health decisions will have to consider this effect.

Actuality:	DILL1.WAV
Run Time:	00:10
Description: "If they are not made in a way that puts more people in insurance, then this portion, the DSH cuts, could have a dramatic effect, because there is not a corresponding new coverage."

From the State Capitol, I'm Nick Thompson