Sen. Bob Jauch said in the last several budgets the state hasn't provided adequate reimbursement to hospitals who care for poor patients. He said while he believes the state should be picking up more of the medical assistance reimbursement, going after more federal dollars, triggered by assessing a hospital gross revenue tax, as the governor has proposed is the best option.
"It's the only choice we have when we lower taxes as much as we have," he said.
DHFS Secretary Hayden said the sole purpose of the assessment is to pass more money on to the hospitals for medical assistance reimbursement.
Racine Republican Rep. Robin Vos questioned Jauch's assertion about lower taxes. "Spending has gone from $33 billion to $55 billion over the last decade). Even though you think we're being successful, the numbers from the Fiscal Bureau show we've almost doubled spending in the last 10 years."
Labels: DHFS, Hayden, Hospital Assessment, Jauch, Vos
