General Discussion

By Harvey Rice,
Galveston Bureau Reporter, Houston Chronicle
Updated March 31, 2013 10:53 p.m.

GALVESTON - Texas is diverting millions of dollars of federal money intended to reimburse three state-owned hospitals for uninsured care and shortfalls in Medicaid payments, University of Texas officials say. That money, which is rerouted into a general fund, otherwise would offset expenses that the University of Texas Medical Branch, M.D. Anderson and UT Tyler incur providing care for the uninsured.

UTMB was once known throughout Texas as a haven for the uninsured, but the number of charity cases at the hospital has dropped steeply since Hurricane Ike struck in September 2008, partly because of the lack of reimbursement from the federal program as one of the reasons.

The intent of the federal programs is for the state and federal governments to repay the hospitals, but Texas contributes no money and instead forces the state hospitals to provide the state's contribution, then takes the federal contribution for the general fund. The hospitals are never compensated for the cost of caring for the uninsured and for shortfalls in Medicaid payments, according to officials at UTMB, UT Tyler and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Emphasis mine.

Of the $37.48 million in reimbursements credited to UTMB for fiscal 2012, the $21.82 million federal share went into the general fund, according to the Health and Human Services Commission.

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It is even worse today.