Senators Stabenow, Levin Announce Increased Payments to Reclassified Michigan Hospitals

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) today announced that 35 hospitals in Michigan will begin receiving higher payments from Medicare. The increase in payments results from a reclassification of the wage index of those facilities, and the new payments will be retroactive to April 1.

“Many Michigan hospitals were being inadequately compensated by Medicare for services, because an unfair and outdated index was being used to determine their reimbursement,” Stabenow said. “I have worked hard on this issue for Michigan’s hospitals over several years, and I am pleased the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has instituted this adjustment in payments.”

“Today's announcement is good news for Michigan hospitals, which deserve to be appropriately reimbursed for the services they provide,” Levin said. “This is a long overdue solution to a problem that, for years, has plagued hospitals that have been unfairly burdened by low and inadequate Medicare payments.”

Medicare reimbursement is based in part on the geographical location of hospitals. For example, a large hospital may be located in small urban area with only one or two smaller facilities nearby. Because the average hourly wage for such a region may be affected by the smaller hospitals – establishing a relatively low reimbursement rate for that region – the larger hospital would receive a lower reimbursement than an equal-sized hospital located in a region with other large hospitals. CMS is now adjusting the reimbursement rates for circumstances like these.

The following Michigan hospitals will receive increased payments:

Alpena General Hospital, Alpena

Huron Valley - Sinai Hospital, Commerce Township

Oakwood Hospital & Medical Center, Dearborn

Detroit Receiving Hospital, Detroit

Harper University Hospital, Detroit

Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit

Sinai - Grace Hospital, Detroit

St. John Detroit Riverview Hospital, Detroit

St. John Hospital & Medical Center, Detroit

Botsford General Hospital, Farmington Hills

Gerber Memorial Hospital, Fremont

Metropolitan Hospital, Grand Haven

North Ottawa Community Hospital, Grand Haven

Saint Mary's Mercy Medical Center, Grand Rapids

Spectrum Health Hospitals, Grand Rapids and Reed City

Bon Secours Hospital, Grosse Point

Cottage Hospital, Grosse Point Farms

Holland Community Hospital, Holland

W.A. Foote Memorial Hospital, Jackson

St. John Oakland Hospital, Madison Heights

Hackley Hospital, Muskegon

Mercy General Health Partners, Muskegon

North Oakland Medical Center, Pontiac

Pontiac Osteopathic Hospital, Pontiac

St. Joseph Mercy Oakland Hospital, Pontiac

Crittenton Hospital Medical Center, Rochester

William Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak

Providence Hospital & Medical Centers, Southfield

Straith Hospital for Special Surgery, Southfield

Oakwood Heritage Hospital, Taylor

Munson Medical Center, Traverse City

Oakwood Southshore Medical Center, Trenton

William Beaumont Hospital – Troy, Troy

Henry Ford Hospital, Wyandotte

Zeeland Community Hospital, Zeeland