The use of medicaid has increased in more states to assist with the handling of costs brought upon nursing homes during the pandemic’s spread across the planet. Nursing homes are taking on the front lines of COVID-19. Many of them are facing financial strain and federal action has been taken. Most states have used Medicaid to secure rate increases for providers. Rate increases are based on how much Medicaid paid nursing homes before the pandemic. States are also willing to supplement emergency funds from the Federal funding.
Arizona, to help health care providers and ensure their viability from now onward, the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System is advancing more than $41 million in scheduled payments to hospitals, primary care providers, behavioral health outpatient providers, and justice clinic providers who are participating in the Targeted Investments program.
The governor has voiced his appreciation for Arizona’s hospitals, doctors, and behavioral health professionals that have really put their all into being one of the pillars uplifting society in this time of crisis. The payments are provided ahead of time to make sure that health care providers can keep on serving Arizonans without any hindrances when it comes to money.
Over a hundred and six provider organizations will be getting a piece of the pie as they had been scheduled to get in the fall of 2020 as a part of their participation in the five-year Targeted Investments initiative. This initiative supports providers as they start to integrate physical and behavioral health services. This program rewards any organization that participated and brought about a certain quality while showing advanced care coordination across providers and clinics. The money is not from any new funding, but what has already existed. Paying this ahead of time has not been AHCCCS’ only move against the pandemic. They have taken to making $5.3 additional payments to Critical Access Hospitals, accelerated $50 million payments to hospitals that participated in the Graduate Medical Education program in 2019, advanced $2.5 million to trauma hospitals, made $6 million in additional payments to nursing facilities, advancing supplemental payments to three nursing facilities, and initiating retention payments to providers who provide any sort of care services to the elderly or individuals with any physical disability.
As you can see, Arizona’s Medicaid program— along with many of the Medicaid programs throughout the United States— are taking on a part and supporting a group that we truly need to support with full force right now. Millions of dollars are going into making sure that hospitals can stay open for when we need them, even in this time of difficulty. This new advanced payment, if it was not enough, it seems that Medicaid is on a roll— and determined to make sure that any and all needs will be met, whether it be the patients or the health care professionals that are fighting a hard battle.
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