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“Nantucket Effect”

Another gift from Obamacare.

At issue is a provision in the 2010 Affordable Care Act that has allowed Massachusetts hospitals to collect an additional $623.5 million over the past two years at the expense of hospitals in most other states, including Wisconsin.

The provision was the work of Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., and strongly backed by then-Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Their amendment mandated that Medicare wage reimbursement funds be drawn from a national pot instead of a state allocation. As a result, increases in reimbursements for one state siphons money from other states.

Medicare’s minimum reimbursements are based on the wages of a state’s rural hospitals, meaning no hospital can be reimbursed for less than the wages at the rural hospitals in a state. Typically, rural hospitals pay less than what urban hospitals pay.

In Massachusetts, however, the only rural hospital is Nantucket Cottage Hospital, located on the posh vacation island where the median home price is more than $1 million. Because of its isolation and high cost of living, wages at the hospital are higher than those at the state’s urban hospitals.

So Massachusetts’ urban hospitals are reaping the benefits of Nantucket Cottage Hospital having a “rural” designation.

Posted by Owen at 1040 hrs
Economy + Politics + Politics - General + Politics - Wisconsin

1. Obama subsidizing the rich, again.

   When are liberals going to get that?

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 25, 2013 at 1127 hrs
   
   
   

2. Many of Kerry’s ObamaCare decisions directly affected his finances. No doubt this did in some way as well. He’s got an entire chapter outlining his backroom stock deals in “Throw Them All Out.”

   Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on February 25, 2013 at 1155 hrs
   
   
   

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