Medicare officials will fix error that could have cost CT hospitals $30 million

The federal Medicare and Medicaid agency has agreed to correct a $30 million mistake how it calculates payments to Connecticut hospitals.

The Connecticut Hospital Association first caught the error, a provision in the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ complex reimbursement rules. The CHA determined that the error would have cost one hospital in Rep. Joe Courtney’s district more than $6 million.

Courtney, D-2^nd District, and Rep. John Larson, D-1^st District, met with CMS officials, pushing them to fix the proposed rule. And CMS announced late Wednesday evening that they would.

“If left uncorrected, this anomaly would have particularly hit Windham Hospital the hardest,” Courtney said in a statement. “CMS had incorrectly denied rural wage status to Windham resulting in a $6.15 million loss of revenue that would have severely damaged its operations.”

Delegation members said the correction will affect 104 providers across the country.