UMass Memorial secures behavioral-health funds
UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester is receiving more than $600,000 in state funds, part of a $12 million push to enhance MassHealth payment rates and improve the quality of service in behavioral health.
The interagency funding agreement between the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission (HPC) and the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EHS) aims to enhance Medicaid payments at “disproportionate share hospitals,” according to a statement Friday from the HPC. Hospitals with that designation serve a significant number of lower-income residents.
The agreement was originally authorized by the legislature in the fiscal 2014 state budget. The Health Care Payment Reform (HCPR) fund consists primarily of one-time licensing fees collected by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission as part of the 2011 gambling-expansion law.
The $12 million will will be prioritized for children and adolescents. The money, which includes UMass Memorial’s share of $619,589, “is a boost to Massachusetts hospitals facing the greatest challenge of improving behavioral health services for those individuals in need,” Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders said in the statement.
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