NATION : Some Medicare Subsidies Raised
The government said today it was raising federal Medicare subsidies for hospitals serving mostly low-income patients or in rural areas.
“These changes will greatly improve the ability of many rural and inner-city hospitals to provide Medicare patients with access to quality health care,” Health and Human Services Secretary Louis W. Sullivan said in a statement.
The Medicare program subsidizes medical care for the nation’s elderly.
Under new regulations issued by the Health and Human Services Department, the government will pay an additional $60 million in subsidies this fiscal year and $180 million next year to hospitals that serve a disproportionately large number of low-income Medicare patients.
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