Providers, Rural Hospitals Upset With President's Proposed Bad Debt Cuts

Nursing homes, hospitals and rural health lobbyists are upset with a proposal in the president's fiscal 2017 budget to further decrease Medicare bad debt payments, and some say providers are still struggling to absorb previous bad debt reimbursement cuts. Reducing Medicare reimbursement of bad debts could save almost $33 billion over 10 years, according to a budget summary. Medicare currently pays 65 percent of bad debt, which results from beneficiaries not paying deductibles and copays for services at nursing homes...