State of New Hampshire Awards UMass Medical School Contract to Provide Expertise and Advice for Hospital Funding Program

WORCESTER, Mass. --(Business Wire)--

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has awarded a three-year contract to UMass Medical School (UMMS) to assist with New Hampshire's Disproportionate Share Hospital program.

The agreement, valued at $600,000 over three years, will be managed by the Center for Health Law and Economics, part of UMMS' Commonwealth Medicine division.

The Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program provides financial assistance to hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients, such as people with Medicaid coverage and the uninsured. Nationally, federal Medicaid DSH payments are the largest source of federal funding for uncompensated hospital care.¹

As part of its work, UMMS will assist with management of the DSH program, providing New Hampshire officials with subject matter expertise, fiscal and legal services, and assistance with myriad policy and compliance issues related to federal mandates that are part of the program.

"We are very pleased to be continuing our strong partnership with New Hampshire DHHS to assist the agency in managing this complex and very important program," said Jean Sullivan, Director of the Center for Health Law and Economics, and UMMS Associate Vice Chancellor. "This partnership is strengthened by our common commitment to pulic service, the desire to ensure that New Hampshire's Medicaid recipients receive the highest quality care possible and that the DSH program keeps pace with the health care system changes coming over the next three years under the federal Affordable Care Act."

The new contract continues a longstanding relationship between the Medical School and New Hampshire DHHS. For nearly 30 years, UMMS has provided New Hampshire with newborn screening services through its New England Newborn Screening Program. The Medical School has also provided disability determination services to the state since 2008. Over the past several years, the Center for Health Law and Economics has also worked with the New Hampshire Insurance Department on a number of health care-related projects, including a recent report examining price variation among New Hampshire hospitals.

Work under the new contract will begin immediately.

About the University of Massachusetts Medical School

The University of Massachusetts Medical School, one of the fastest-growing academic health sciences centers in the country, has built a reputation as a world-class research institution, consistently producing noteworthy advances in clinical and basic research. The Medical School attracts more than $255 million in research funding annually, 80 percent of which comes from federal funding sources. The mission of the Medical School is to advance the health and well-being of the people of Massachusetts and the world, through pioneering education, research, public service, and health care delivery. Commonwealth Medicine, the Medical School's health care consulting and operations division, provides a wide range of care management and consulting services to government agencies and health care organizations. For more information, visit commed.umassmed.edu.

¹ The Basics - Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital Payments: http://www.nhpf.org/library/the-basics/Basics_DSH_06-15-09.pdf