January 12th, 2010

Reports the Times Leader:

 Legislation to temporarily extend higher Medicare reimbursement rates for area hospitals is pending, but the major health care reform under way on Capitol Hill could provide a permanent fix to the problem.

At Mercy Hospital, members of the Northeastern Pennsylvania’s federal legislative delegation Monday briefed health care officials on the progress.

“It’s an ongoing fight,” said Sen. Arlen Specter, D- Philadelphia.

Legislation in the House of Representatives would extend payments under the Medicare Wage Index Reclassification for two years, while the Senate’s extension would be for a year, he said.

Specter and others have succeeded in getting more than $200 million for hospitals during the past 10 years to ensure payments for services are in line with those paid to hospitals in larger metropolitan areas.

The more than $5 million provided to Mercy under the last extension that ended on Sept. 30, 2009, was the difference between the hospital operating in the black as opposed to the red, Specter said.

The money enables hospitals to pay competitive wages, added Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton.

“It’s critically important because we have a right to expect quality health care in Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Casey said.

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