Tulsa hospitals could get $4 million more under new formula

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A change in the formula the state uses to dole out Medicaid funding could mean $4 million more each year for Tulsa hospitals, officials said Monday. <br><br>The head of the Oklahoma

Tuesday, October 9th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ A change in the formula the state uses to dole out Medicaid funding could mean $4 million more each year for Tulsa hospitals, officials said Monday.

The head of the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, which administers the state's Medicaid program, proposed changes in the formula during a meeting at the Capitol.

Chief Executive Officer Mike Fogarty spoke to the Hospital Funding Task Force, a panel including state legislators, hospital executives and other professionals.

The task force has until the end of the year to recommend changes in hospital funding methods to state leaders.

The authority allocated more than $63 million this year to hospitals through the Direct Medical Education program, which helps hospitals provide training for doctors.

Three Tulsa hospitals _ Hillcrest HealthCare System, St. Francis Hospital and St. John Medical Center _ were allocated $26.6 million, according to the research staff of the House of Representatives.

Three Oklahoma City hospitals _ the University Hospitals Authority, Integris Health System and St. Anthony Hospital _ received $34.8 million.

The three Oklahoma City hospitals received about $8 million more than the Tulsa hospitals even though Tulsa provided 4 percent more service to Medicaid patients.

The Direct Medical Education program pays hospitals according to the number of resident doctors in training and the number of months they work, Fogarty said. Some hospitals receive more money per Medicaid patient per day than other hospitals.

Fogarty unveiled a new funding formula that would use the number of Medicaid patients in a hospital for each day, the level of care provided and the number of resident doctors in training.

Under that system, funding for Hillcrest would increase by $1.6 million, funding for St. Francis and St. John would increase by $1 million each, and funding for Tulsa Regional Medical Center would increase by $902,835. Funding for Parkside would decrease by $362,764.

Funding for some Oklahoma City hospitals would decrease.