Gov. Abbott announces $984 million in annual funding for Texas hospitals

On Aug. 17, Gov. Greg Abbott announced $984 million in annual state funding for Texas hospitals. According to a press release from the Governor's Office, the funding was secured by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

“Texans across the state will now have greater access to the healthcare services they need with this additional annual funding,” Abbott said in the press release. “I applaud the Texas Health and Human Services Commission for their tireless work in securing approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for Texas’ plan to fund hundreds of private hospitals, providing crucial care to millions of Texans. Working together, we will ensure Texans in rural and border communities have the healthcare access they need and deserve for generations to come.” 

According to the press release, the funding was a result of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) approval of the state’s requests to amend its Medicaid plan and allow payments to privately owned or operated hospitals. Additional payments will be administered through Medicaid Graduate Medical Education (GME) supplemental payments and the Hospital Augmented Reimbursement Program (HARP).

The release said that an estimated $875 million in HARP payments are earmarked for private hospitals that provide inpatient and outpatient services for Texas Medicaid clients while the annual GME payments estimating $109 million will go toward teaching hospitals that have state-approved medical residency training programs.

“We value our partnerships with these safety net providers across the state and know this funding will have a positive impact in Texas communities,” HHSC Executive Commissioner Cecile Young said, per the release. Abbott, in turn, thanked the department in an Aug. 17 Twitter post saying, “I thank HHSC for securing this investment to expand access to crucial healthcare for Texans in every community.

According to the press release, on Aug. 15, CMS approved the GME program retroactively to April 1, 2019, and the HARP program retroactively to October 1, 2021.