Mississippi To Reimburse Memphis Medical Center for Treating Uninsured, Hospital Officials Say

Mississippi officials have reached an agreement with Tennessee's Regional Medical Center at Memphis, also known as "The Med," to reimburse the facility for treating uninsured patients from Mississippi, the Memphis Commercial Appeal reports. Each year, The Med spends about $9 million providing uncompensated care for thousands of uninsured Mississippi residents. On Sept. 10, Dr. Bruce Steinhauer, the hospital's president and CEO, said The Med reached an agreement with the Mississippi Medicaid program to reimburse the hospital for those services. Under the plan, The Med would transfer about $2 million of its cash reserves to the city of Memphis. The city then would use the funds to provide a grant for Mississippi, which would use the $2 million to receive an extra $6 million in federal Medicaid matching funds. Once Mississippi receives the federal reimbursement, it would transfer both the initial grant and the matching funds to The Med. Lewis Donelson, The Med's chair, said that although the facility will not receive the same level of funding from Mississippi each year, the plan "does set a precedent." The Commercial Appeal reports that neither federal nor Mississippi Medicaid officials would confirm they had approved the plan. The Memphis City Council also must approve the deal (Bailey, Memphis Commercial Appeal, 9/11).