Hocking County commissioners approve joining hospital tax consortium to increase Medicaid drawdown

The Hocking County Board of Commissioners voted June 5 to join a multi-county hospital tax consortium intended to increase federal Medicaid reimbursements to local hospitals, and appointed a county commissioner to represent Hocking County in the consortium.

Commissioners described the program as one already used in other states (including Texas and Florida) and in some other U.S. counties; county officials said the mechanism asks the hospital to remit a local tax to the county, which the county then uses to secure additional federal Medicaid matching funds. Commissioners said the hospital pays the tax and that the program is structured so patients and the county general fund are not directly charged; staff said the approach is designed to increase federal reimbursement dollars returned to the region.

Meeting discussion noted that participating counties will designate a county representative and that Muskingum County will manage fund collection and the reimbursement application process for participating counties in that region. Commissioners also said the hospital CEO and CFO had endorsed the plan.

The commission approved a resolution to join the consortium and separately approved a motion to appoint a county commissioner to serve as Hocking County’s representative on the consortium. Both motions passed by roll-call vote with the commissioners present voting in favor.

Why it matters: county leaders said the arrangement is intended to increase Medicaid-related reimbursement to the region and improve hospital cash flow for Medicaid patients, who currently may be reimbursed below cost. The county characterized the action as a short-term cash-flow challenge for hospitals that is intended to draw down a larger amount of federal funding through state-managed matching.