MHA Seeks RFA Changes For 2002

BOSTON — Mass. Hospital Assoc. (MHA) officials have asked the state Division of Medical Assistance (DMA) to make changes to the 2002 Medicaid Request for Application, or RFA.
MHA Vice President of Finance Joseph Kirkpatrick said the MHA has suggested three reasonable changes as a way of beginning to close the Medicaid payment-to-cost gap. That gap results in a yearly $200 million shortfall in Medicaid payments to hospitals. MHA requested that the DMA:

Return the statewide inpatient standard cost per discharge to the 2001 level. The 2002 RFA reduces the standard cost per discharge by 3.5{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5};
Change the inflation update to 3.3{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5}, based on the Medicare market basket inflation rate. The 2002 RFA grants only a 1.15{06cf2b9696b159f874511d23dbc893eb1ac83014175ed30550cfff22781411e5} inflation update;
Acknowledge and correct problems with DMA’s outpatient claims processing system in this contract period.