Since the Oregon health care industry has benefited from the Affordable Care Act, it should chip in more to fill a looming hole in the Medicaid budget, a new report from the Oregon Center for Public Policy concludes.
The report by policy analyst Janet Bauer says Medicaid is a “great deal” for Oregon. It triggers a multi-billion dollar investment by the federal government into the state’s economy. Federal funds cover 75 percent of the Oregon Health Plan in the 2017-19 biennium.
But the health plan is facing an $882 million budget shortfall starting later this year, as the federal government contribution to the Medicaid expansion population dwindles.
The Center for Public Policy is calling on the state to increase the existing tax on hospital revenue, reinstate a tax on managed care organizations and consider new taxes on other types of health care providers.
“The Affordable Care Act, and the Medicaid expansion in particular, have proved to be a boon for much of the health care industry,” Bauer said in the report. “Net patient revenues at Oregon hospitals have increased sharply since the time major federal reforms came into effect. Meanwhile, hospitals’ charity care — a justification for their nonprofit status — has plummeted because many more Oregonians are able to pay for hospital care through newly-acquired insurance.”
Gov. Kate Brown’s proposed budget includes a hike in the hospital tax and reinstatement of a tax on health insurers.
Andy Davidson, president and CEO of the Oregon Association of Hospitals and Health Systems, said hospitals have a history of helping Medicaid fill budget gaps, back to the inception of the original hospital tax program in 2003.
HENRY KOTULA 