Gov. Maura Healey signed a $234 million aid bill Monday that will help cover expected shortfalls at hospitals across the state, including the former Lawrence General and Holy Family Hospitals, now known as Merrimack Health, and Anna Jaques Hospital.
The state Center for Health Information and Analysis gave an estimated allocation breakdown to State House News Service. While specific hospital amounts are not yet known, the agency said hospitals qualifying for a share of a $20 million allocation include Lawrence General Hospital, Baystate Wing Hospital, Heywood Hospital, Holyoke Medical Center and Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital. Those qualifying for a share of a $41 million allocation include Holy Family Hospital, Anna Jaques Hospital, Boston Medical Center, MetroWest Medical Center, Morton Hospital and North Shore Medical Center.
“Massachusetts has a world-class healthcare system and funding like this helps keep it strong. This support will provide relief to fiscally strained hospitals and ensure that every patient in the Commonwealth can receive the care they deserve,” state Sen. Barry R. Finegold said in a statement Monday.
As WHAV reported Monday, legislators set aside $199 million for acute care hospitals statewide and $77 million to reimburse hospitals and community health centers for services to uninsured and underinsured residents. Community health centers will receive an additional $35 million, including $2.5 million earmarked for shared services. Allocations will ultimately be based on each hospital’s public payer mix; their “relative price,” which the Center for Health Information and Analysis uses as a metric to compare average provider prices; and their operating margins.
State House News Service contributed to this report.