Indiana has made major changes to the way it pays hospitals in an effort to make health care more affordable, taking a novel approach that officials have said is a first in the nation.
Why it matters: It’s a real attempt at lowering Indiana’s high hospital prices, something that could eventually lower costs for Hoosiers.
State of play: The state announced Friday that it had received federal approval for major updates to two policies — the Hospital Assessment Fee (HAF) program and the State Directed Payment (SDP) initiative.
- The state is maximizing HAF payments to secure a larger federal Medicaid match, which would then flow back to hospitals through enhanced reimbursements from the SDP program.
- How much hospitals receive under that model will depend on their commercial pricing.
What they’re saying: “This funding is certainly significant; however, it does not fully close the gap, and more work remains to ensure Medicaid reimbursement is sustainable long-term.”…