Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Healthcare Funding topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
House keeps hospital 'bed tax' for one more year, citing Medicaid match
Summary
The House voted Feb. 26, 1997 to extend a hospital bed tax mechanism (HB331) that sponsors said yields a $6.5 million state cap and attracts roughly $19.5 million in federal Medicaid matching funds; the recorded floor vote was 51–15 in favor.
Representative John L. Valentine opened debate on House Bill 331, describing it as a mechanism that imposes a per-patient 'bed tax' to generate state revenue and, crucially, leverage federal Medicaid matching funds. Valentine said the bill sets the statutory rate (cited on the floor as $1 per patient encounter for the program) and reduces the executive director's discretionary cap to $6.5 million while preserving the federal match estimated at roughly $19.5 million. Sponsor and supporters said the tax was originally requested and supported by hospitals as a way to increase Medicaid funding available to the state.
Floor discussion included moral framing (several members characterized it as a "tax on being sick"), questions about the collection and cap-setting authority, and one member declared a conflict of interest (serving on a hospital board) before the vote. The Speaker recorded the floor vote as 51 yes, 15 no; the bill will be sent to the Senate for further consideration.
Ending: The sponsor argued the mechanism yields needed federal funds for Medicaid and that removing it would reduce federal and state Medicaid resources; opponents criticized the policy as an onerous charge on patients and urged a timetable for removing the tax in the future.
Provenance: Sponsor explanation and vote recorded on the House floor (transcript segments cited).
