Washington » The federal government would boost the pay Utah hospitals and physicians get for treating seniors under a late addition to the health reform debate.
The Senate included the provision that helps five so-called "frontier states" at the request of North Dakota Sens. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan.
These states would split $2 billion in additional Medicare payments over the next decade. Other than Utah and North Dakota, the frontier states include Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Medicare payments vary throughout the country based on population and these states get the lowest reimbursements, which has been a bone of contention for years. To qualify for the frontier label, half of the counties in each state must have less than six residents for every square mile.
If the "frontier" provision stays in the final version of the bill, Utah physicians would receive the equivalent of a five percent boost in Medicare payments, equalling about $20 million in new money each year.
Some hospitals would also receive increased Medicare payments, expected to be about a 4 percent boost or the equivalent of $28 million.
These rough financial estimates come from Sen. Orrin Hatch's office. The Utah Republican has long complained about the state's low Medicare reimbursement, but he is also one of the Senate's most vocal critics of the health reform bill.
He said the provision "might help the state a little around the margins" but he considers it "a small consolation prize" for the cuts in future Medicare spending in the bill, which could be as much as $500 billion over the next decade.
With its membership split on health reform, the Utah Medical Association hasn't taken a position on the bill. But UMA spokesman Mark Fotheringham spoke favorably about the Medicare boost Thursday, despite being unfamiliar with its details.
"Anything that would help to incentivize physicians to practice in rural areas would benefit Utahns," he said. "That would be a no-brainer for us."
The Nebraska senators told The Associated Press recently that they are running into serious opposition as they fight to keep the new funding in the bill, which is now being negotiated between House and Senate leaders.
"I can't describe to you how tough a fight this is," Conrad told the AP. "There's 'x' amount of money on the table. You can imagine other states that don't benefit see that as taking money from them. They are pushing back, very, very hard."
Part of the problem is that three of the frontier states -- Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota -- are largely represented by Republicans, who so far are nearly unanimously opposed to the reform bill.
