The $26.75-billion deal, the result of a year and a half of negotiations, includes $120 million in new federal funding to change the way safety-net hospitals are paid, moving them toward a system in which they are given a set budget to treat Medicaid patients. Hospitals eligible for the program are Boston Medical Center, Cambridge Health Alliance, Brockton Hospital, Lawrence General Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center, and Mercy Medical Center in Springfield. .
The hospitals were receptive to the idea, Bigby said. “We worked with them to develop the strategy, to get them to agree to the transformation that they have to make.’’
Last year, Boston Medical Center received about $90 million extra to treat a large portion of the state’s Medicaid patients.
Under the waiver, the hospital will be eligible to receive up to $103 million in the coming year and must meet quality and cost benchmarks to get all of that money, said chief executive Kate Walsh.
The new system will help to stabilize the hospital’s finances and improve patient care, she said. “It provides support and financial resources to begin the transformation, so that we’re ready for whatever health care reform brings.’’
Hospitals such as Boston Medical Center that care for many poor patients say they have suffered under the 2006 law because state aid they received for treating uninsured patients was diverted to pay for insurance subsidies. And they say the number of newly insured patients they now see has not made up for the lost revenue.
News of the waiver came a day after federal officials said five Massachusetts systems, including Partners HealthCare and Steward Health Care System, have agreed to be paid on a budget system for the management of elderly and disabled patients on Medicare, starting Jan. 1.
