SALISBURY, Md.- The state of Maryland is the only state in the country with a federal exemption allowing hospitals to set their own rates. The waiver is designed to spread costs for the uninsured, increase transparency and keep overall costs low.
To hold on to it, every three months the state must show its Medicare costs have not been as high as the rest of the country. For more than three decades, passing that test has not been a problem.
The exemption is all possible thanks to extra Medicaid funding given to Maryland by the federal government but now, with the rising costs of healthcare, the state is coming dangerously close to losing out.
Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury is just one of the dozens of Maryland hospitals benefiting from the state's rate setting system.
"It allows us to tailor how we deliver healthcare to the needs of Marylanders," explained Doug Wilson, PRMC's executive director of strategy and marketing development.
Yet, according to Wilson and other state health officials, the waiver test used to keep the system in place fails to take into account the changing face of health care, which now focuses more on outpatient than in-patient services. And now, they want a more up-to-date test.
"Absent that, Maryland will be like every other state and have to make tough choices about what they do and don't do and that affects patient care and we are very focused on patient care, taking care of patients in Maryland," Wilson said.
Marylanders want things to stay that way.
"I would hate to see medical care costs go up if the government is discontinuing the subsidy for the hospitals then it's going to cause the medical care to increase," noted Ivan Richardson of Snow Hill.
But just over the border in Delaware, Katherine Cotto said, "I think it's unfair. All states should have it because Maryland is not the only state in the United States."
As for the impact of losing this waiver, Wilson explained it all boils down to affecting the patient. He said the quality of hospitals may go down, costs to patients may increase and the potential financial impact to the state of Maryland could be in the billions.
(Photo: WBOC)
