Write an article about Palm Beach County aims to help hospitals amid federal cuts .Organize the content with appropriate headings and subheadings (h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6) and made content unique, Retain any existing tags from
Palm Beach County took steps to secure what it could the day before President Donald Trump’s $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill was lifted toward a final passage Thursday.
County commissioners on Wednesday held an emergency meeting to allow county hospitals flexibility in receiving reimbursement on Medicaid expenses by approving an annual special assessment to be the highest allowed rate.
“In order to maximize the opportunity for Palm Beach County hospitals to receive additional Medicaid funding in support of treating patients and improving outcomes, the current budget bill moving through Congress provides for this additional funding only if certain steps are taken by this board prior to the federal budget passage, which essentially entails raising the current maximum amount which hospitals are assessed in order to receive a greater match from the federal government,” Assistant County Administrator Reginald Duren said during the meeting.
This is because part of Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill‘ proposes pulling more than $1 trillion from Medicaid health care to ultimately fund Trump’s border and national security agenda, including the U.S.-Mexico border wall and migrant detention facility beds. In its current form, the bill could make it harder for Florida hospitals to get reimbursed for Medicaid patient costs, according to a letter addressed to “Palm Beach Leadership” from June 30 seeking emergency action. The letter was signed by the Palm Beach Health Network, Baptist Health South Florida and HCA Florida Healthcare.
This is because local hospital tax assessments fund Florida’s Hospital Direct Payment Program, which then allows hospitals to receive reimbursement of 80 cents on the dollar for Medicaid care.
“Hospitals have agreed to a special tax. That tax gets paid, it goes to (the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration), that then allows them to pull down additional Medicaid dollars,” Commissioner Gregg Weiss said in an interview with the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “Medicaid reimburses at a very low rate. This allows them to pull down additional dollars that then gets distributed back to the hospitals, and it’s a match, if you will. So their assessment is a match to these dollars.”
Trump’s bill, though, could prevent any assessment growth. According to the letter: “As a result, after its enactment, hospitals will lose the ability to access federal reimbursement through paying more of their own dollars. In a fiscally conservative state like Florida, this loss effectively closes the only door for hospitals to gain greater reimbursement to keep up with inflation, growing Medicaid populations and increased costs.”
The county commissioners were set to discuss the special assessment as soon as next week, as they do each year, said interim County Administrator Todd J. Bonlarron, but with the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ set to reach passage, county officials did not want to wait.
“There was just some concern amongst the hospitals that we might miss a deadline,” Bonlarron said in an interview with the Sun Sentinel. “It’s like, you know, when you apply for a grant, there’s a deadline to apply for a grant to be eligible for it, right? And if you missed that deadline date and you apply for it the next day, you’re not eligible for that grant anymore.”
Jason Kimbrell, the CEO of HCA Florida Palms West Hospital, addressed the Palm Beach County Commission on Wednesday morning, saying that by “acting now,” the commissioners ensured the county’s hospitals “do not miss out on this very important critical chance.”
“The vote enables our facilities to end Medicaid losses as we provide care to all regardless of their income. This opportunity comes at no cost to the county or any citizens. It brings the federal tax dollars we all paid back to our county,” Kimbrell said during the meeting.
According to the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration, more than five million people are eligible each month for Medicaid. In Palm Beach County, 238,994 people were eligible for Medicaid as of May 31.
and integrate them seamlessly into the new content without adding new tags. Include conclusion section and FAQs section at the end. do not include the title. it must return only article i dont want any extra information or introductory text with article e.g: ” Here is rewritten article:” or “Here is the rewritten content:”
