As reported in these pages earlier, the Governor’s budget (and that of the House) decreased QCCT funding for indigent care at University Hospital by 70% percent over the next two years. The justification for this decrease was that the new healthcare reforms being put into place would result in fewer patients showing up for care at Louisville’s designated poor-people’s hospital. Perhaps there were other reasons too.
QCCT gets zeroed out.
The Senate’s Budget Committee upped the ante by immediately eliminating this subsidy altogether! Senate Republicans justify this further decrease with an amazingly cynical bit of political sophistry. Senate Republicans argue that because every person in Kentucky is now eligible for some form of health insurance, that no patient will be eligible for QCCT funding in any case. Some folks may actually believe this. Of course not even the most ardent defenders of the Accountable Care Act (ACA) claim that everyone will be covered by the complicated system of programs and options that could be cobbled together against intense partisan opposition. Among other reasons, out-of-pocket costs to patients will still present a prohibitive barrier for many. Failure to fund the full “traditional” $21 Million program releases University Hospital from its obligation to provide care to all comers. There will still be plenty of work to go around for all Jefferson County providers to take their share. Continue reading “QCCT Fund for Indigent Care Takes a Further Beating in Kentucky Senate.”