The Wisconsin Department of Health Services recently revealed a newly revised hospital assessment to help alleviate hospital debts and provide health care for more residents.

The DHS collaborated with the Department of Administration, the Wisconsin Hospital Association and Gov. Jim Doyle to draft this plan.

If passed, the plan would bring $300 million to the state in additional federal funding, considerably increase Medicaid reimbursement rates and bring Wisconsin nearer to providing healthcare to 98 percent of its residents, according to a DHS press release.

The DHS reported last December that hospital charity care and bad debt had both increased by 19 percent as a result of the turbulent economy.

In a press release, DHS Secretary Karen Timberlake said the assessment would allow the state to help area hospitals by increasing the Medicaid reimbursement rate.

“In these challenging economic times, it is more important than ever that we move forward with a hospital assessment in order to reward hospitals that consistently provide high-quality health care to Medicaid patients,” Timberlake said.

The DHS anticipates that, with the assessment, every $1 of revenue taxed by the state would generate $1.65 for hospitals, since Medicaid matches Wisconsin’s investments. Currently, Wisconsin hospitals receive on average 55 cents in reimbursement from the Medicaid program for every $1 of care provided to a Medicaid patient.

Another program that will benefit from this increased revenue is the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan for Childless Adults. The Core Plan will provide access to basic health care services, including primary and preventive care and generic drugs, to low-income adults.

The Core Plan, approved by the federal government last year, will use a portion of the assessment to provide health care coverage to approximately 41,000 additional residents. The first phase of the Core Plan went into effect Jan. 1 and included more than 12,000 citizens.

Lee Sensenbrenner, spokesperson for Doyle, said the governor supports this proposal because it will bring more money into the state and help pay for essential health care services and other hospital needs.

“It doesn’t make sense if you have the federal government offering you hundreds of millions of dollars to help pay for medical care in the state and you refuse it,” Sensenbrenner said.

Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, D-Janesville, said in a press release on Jan. 14 that he and Assembly Democrats are also in favor of the assessment and see it as a way for Wisconsin to acquire revenue needed to help lower the state budget deficit.

“The hospital assessment is a smart way to help bridge our budget gap. The assessment on hospital revenues could attract several hundred million dollars in federal money to help reimburse hospitals for care provided to patients on Medicaid,” Sheridan said.

Jim Bender, spokesperson for Assembly Minority Leader Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, also thinks this assessment will benefit the state, but said there are problems as well, including the state’s previous addition of some of the hospital reimbursement revenue to the state’s general fund in order to help balance the budget.