Medicaid and Medicare Reimbursement

Low Medicaid Reimbursement Rates Threaten Vital Services

Currently, hospitals are reimbursed far less than what it costs them to provide the care in the Medicare and Medicaid programs. In Connecticut, Medicare and Medicaid underpayments reached approximately $2.8 billion in 2022. Connecticut hospitals incurred $1.55 billion in Medicare losses, $1.23 billion in Medicaid losses, and spent more than $270 million on charity care and bad debt.

Connecticut’s distressingly low Medicaid reimbursement rates lag significantly behind other states and create barriers to healthcare access for low-income residents. Connecticut’s chronic underfunding of Medicaid is also contributing to a cost shift that drives up what employers and consumers pay for healthcare.

A new report confirms the alarming situation that healthcare providers have long called for action to address.

Connecticut must take the steps hospitals and health advocates have long encouraged to address the underfunding of Medicaid.

There is a glaring need for action to help all patients.