Commissioner Christine Grant, who chaired the commission, received the draft report after the final meeting this morning. She will review the recommendations before presenting the report to the Governor. Everyone needs to assume responsibility. The commission also recognized that in some instances boards of trustees, hospital management and physicians were resistant to change, did not fully understand the gravity of the financial situation or act on critical issues such as reducing the lengths of stay. Analysis of length of stay in New Jersey hospitals shows the average length of stay for Medicare patients is 1.5 days higher than the national average.
Hospitals receive no additional revenue for the longer stays under the federal fixed rate.
Explore a Hospital Asset Transformation Program to help facilities that are no longer needed nor financially viable as acute care hospitals in transitioning to other uses needed by the community and able to be sustained financially. Establish a supplemental charity care fund to ensure all hospitals exceeding a threshold of charity care receive some funding for those charity care services. Establish more flexible charity care documentation requirements to ensure eligible patients are appropriately identified Establish affordable health insurance programs that will reduce the burden of charity care. Unite with industry groups to advocate for changes to Medicare reimbursement cuts under the federal Balanced Budget Act. Educate boards of trustees, health care professionals and the public of the changing realities of the health care marketplace.