Cuts to TRICARE reimbursement rates prove costly to children’s hospitals, patients
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Families may have to wait longer or travel to a different facility to receive care for their kids due to the military cutting reimbursement rates to children's hospitals.
In October, the Department of Defense reduced the amount of money TRICARE, a military healthcare program, reimburses children’s hospitals. The Children’s Hospital in Colorado Springs, which serves more than 15,000 military kids, said the cuts will lead to a 40% reduction in reimbursements and cost them $11-17 million per year.
“These new rules will disproportionately impact Southern Region operations and threaten our ability to maintain our current level of care for the entire Colorado Springs community, including military and non-military patients and families alike,” the Colorado Springs Children’s Hospital said.
The Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), which advocates for military families across the country, said the changes will not only negatively affect military families but also civilian patients.
“(Hospitals) will have to cut services, they'll have to cut programs, they will have to reduce capacity in their hospitals,” said Karen Ruedisueli, the Director of Health Affairs with MOAA. “All of those things will affect access for military kids as well as civilian kids in the community.”
If the drop in reimbursement rates hits Children’s Hospitals in the wallets especially hard, they may have to decide between their bottom line or their patients, with some potentially turning away TRICARE members forcing them to travel to a different facility.
“Sometimes we hear about providers having to limit the number of TRICARE patients they see because they just can't afford those low reimbursements for a large percentage of their patient population,” Ruedisueli said.
KRDO13 Investigates reached out to the Department of Defense but is still waiting for a response. The reimbursement cuts are expected to save the military about $45 million per year.
However, children’s hospitals and military organizations are trying to have these cuts overturned, sending letters to U.S. senators and representatives. Lawmakers on the U.S. House Armed Services Committee are expected to revise the defense authorization bill next week which could include a return to the previous reimbursement rates.
“Colorado Springs has become what's considered a hub for special needs military families,” Ruedisueli said. “(Reimbursement rate cuts) could really threaten that and limit the number of special needs families that could be stationed at Colorado Springs moving forward.”
