Purchaser: Texas Department of Health Program: Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Program Description: Federal law provides for Medicaid financial assistance to hospitals that care for large numbers of patients who do not have health insurance or other sources of reimbursement for care. Hospitals qualify for the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program based on the overall cost of treating these low-income patients.
In Texas, the federal share of these costs is about 62 percent of each dollar spent on uninsured patients and is capped at $1.6 billion for fiscal 1999. The allocation of the funds is based on fiscal 1997 expenditure data.
Texas Total, Fiscal 1999
State-Financed Facilities: $489,214,764 Gross DSH
Other Hospitals Gross DSH Total Inter
Governmental
TransfersNet DSH Large Urban Public Hospitals $644,581,954 $390,069,853 $253,512,101 Children’s Hospitals 39,022,558 39,022,558 Urban Hospitals 277,019,631 277,019,631 Rural Hospitals 77,780,342 77,780,342 Total $1,038,404,485 $390,069,853 $648,334,632 Source: Texas Department of Health.