Beshear, McConnell release list of 54 Ky. hospitals getting $383 million, 3/4 of it federal, settling their suit over state Medicaid rates
Gov. Andy Beshear and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have released a list of 54 hospitals in Kentucky that will get $383 million in state and federal money from the settlement of 13-year-old dispute about funding from the federal-state Medicaid program.
The administration of Republican Gov. Matt Bevin had budgeted $425 million in state funding to settle the case, Beshear noted in a news release Wednesday.
McConnell said in the release, “In the midst of the coronavirus crisis, I’m proud to work with the Trump administration and Gov. Beshear to deliver urgently needed resources. . . . The medical professionals at our rural hospitals have shown their courage and dedication every day throughout this pandemic, and it’s my privilege to thank and support them.”
At Pikeville Medical Center, Chief Executive Officer Donovan Blackburn was grateful: “I want to thank Gov. Beshear and Sen. McConnell for bringing a positive resolution to this longstanding issue. The $8,043,076 that our hospital will receive could not come at a better time, and will make a significant difference in our ability to deal with the ongoing pandemic and its financial impact.”
The dispute involved the state’s method of setting reimbursement rates for acute-care hospitals in 2007-15. It went to court in 2013, and was pending before the Kentucky Supreme Court.
The settlement was announced April 3. For a list of hospitals and amounts, click here. The largest single payment, almost $33.7 million, is to Owensboro Health Regional Hospital. St. Joseph Hospital in Lexington got $31.35 million. In Northern Kentucky, St. Elizabeth Medical Center and St. Elizabeth Florence will get $28.76 million and $10.42 million, respectively.