The Kaweah Delta Health Care District is calling on local legislators to vote for the state’s Managed Care Organizations (MCO) bill package, which would provide nearly $800,000 in reimbursements for the district.
In a statement released today, Kaweah Delta asked Assemblyman Devon Mathis, (R-Visalia), Senator Andy Vidak (R-Hanford) and Senator Jean Fuller (R-Bakersfield) to support the MCO bill package and eliminate “clawback” or retroactive recoupment of reimbursement for services provided by distinct part skilled nursing facilities (DP/SNFs).
According to the statement, eliminating the clawback would provide approximately $6 million for DP/SNFs in legislative districts throughout California, including the $800,000 associated with delivery of patient care at the Kaweah Delta skilled nursing facility.
“We need to restore the funding to these critical facilities that service primarily vulnerable Medi-Cal patients,” said Lindsay K. Mann, CEO of Kaweah Delta Health Care District. “If this bill package fails to pass, it will have a devastating impact on our community and, specifically, our ability to offer skilled nursing services.”
Assembly Bill 97 reduced the reimbursement to DP/SNFs by 90 percent of 2008-2009 rates in 2011. The rates were later restored by Senate Bill 239 in 2013. However, Kaweah Delta said the potential lost reimbursements from 2011 to 2013 continue to hurt local hospitals and patients.
“This MCO package will directly help some of our most vulnerable patients,” Mann said. “Not only is it good for our hospitals and our patients, it’s a good fiscal policy for the state. With all this in mind, I ask Senator Jean Fuller, Senator Andy Vidak and Assemblyman Devon Mathis to support the MCO package.”
The bill package is expected to come up for a vote in the California Legislature early next week.
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