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State Representative Rod Hamilton
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-5373
For more information contact: Jason Wenisch 651-296-2317
NEWS RELEASE
HAMILTON AUTHORS BILL TO INCREASE REIMBURSEMENT RATES FOR RURAL NURSING HOMES
ST. PAUL – In order to level the playing field in terms of Medical Assistance (MA) payments to rural nursing homes, State Representative Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake) is chief-authoring legislation that increases reimbursement rates to facilities currently receiving the lowest payment amounts.
“As the state continues to move toward a new reimbursement system, this proposal is a needed first step in correcting the current flawed system by reducing disparities in rural areas,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the 394 Minnesota nursing homes receiving MA reimbursement are generally grouped into three geographic regions: Metro, rural and deep rural. 62% of these facilities are located in the rural or deep rural regions. Reimbursement rates can vary around the state by hundreds of dollars, and are not at all uniform across geographic regions.
Hamilton’s bill would increase reimbursement rates for the 179 nursing homes receiving the lowest rates in the rural and deep rural areas. This would require a state investment of $1.9 million in Fiscal Year 2007, but when you calculate federal and private contributions to the program, the total benefit to facilities would be roughly $9.65 million.
Hamilton said the proposal is part of his comprehensive Rural Health Care Initiative, which also helps reduce health insurance premiums for small business owners.
“There continues to be an unfair disparity between both rural health insurance premium rates and reimbursement rates for rural nursing homes,” Hamilton said. “My Rural Health Care Initiative attempts to level the playing field between Greater Minnesota and the Metro area.”
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