Budget Stalemate Halts New Health Care Services in Cleveland

The ongoing budget stalemate in Washington has created a bureaucratic hurdle for health care providers in Greater Cleveland, delaying the certification of new services for Medicare reimbursement. Hospitals and medical clinics, including the Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland, are unable to receive payments for new services until they receive a certificate of approval from the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA). The HCFA, caught in the crossfire of the budget war, lacks the funds to send employees and agents to certify new services, forcing providers to delay or abandon their plans.

Key Takeaways:

• The budget stalemate has created a bottleneck for new health care services in Greater Cleveland, with 130-140 providers waiting for site inspections and certification.
• HCFA's lack of funds has prevented the agency from certifying new services, forcing providers to delay or abandon their plans.
• Providers, such as the Center for Dialysis Care and CCF Health Care Ventures, have spent millions of dollars on new facilities and services, but cannot receive reimbursement until certification.
• The situation has caused "heartache and headache" for health care providers, leading to inconveniences and delays in caring for Medicare patients.
• HCFA's proposal to "free up" money for initial site surveys in underserved areas has yet to receive a response.

Statistics:

• 130-140 health care providers in Ohio are waiting for site inspections and certification for new services.
• Providers have spent several million dollars on new facilities and services, but cannot receive reimbursement.
• The Center for Dialysis Care had planned to open its fourth local center, but the opening will be delayed indefinitely until certification is received.
• HCFA has received a proposal to "free up" money for initial site surveys in underserved areas, but there has been no response.

Sources:

• Douglas J. Wolfe, program representative for the U.S. Health Care Financing Administration in Chicago (HCFA)
• J.B. Silvers, director of the Health Systems Management Center at Case Western Reserve University
• Diane Wish, executive director and chief executive officer for the Center for Dialysis Care Inc.
• Carol Rolf, health care attorney for Roth, Rolf & Goffman
• Carol L. Schaffer, president and chief executive officer of CCF Health Care Ventures Inc.