Pay NJ Hospitals More For Medicaid, Belleville Congress Candidate Says

BELLEVILLE, NJ — An emergency room doctor from Essex County who is running for U.S. Congress says that there is a way to help solve the “severe financial crisis” that many urban hospitals are facing across New Jersey: pay them more for treating Medicaid patients.

Raafat Barsoom – who is seeking the Republican nomination for a House seat in New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District this year – has practiced at Mountainside Hospital in Montclair and CareWell Health Medical Center in East Orange. And he continues to put his medical experience to work as part of his political platform.

On Wednesday, Barsoom issued a statement that criticized a massive foreign aid package that passed through Congress this week, writing that lawmakers should be spending taxpayer money on “serious problems at home” instead. See Related: Foreign Aid Package Is A Win For United States And Its Allies, Mikie Sherrill Says

One of those problems? Revamping the payment system between Medicaid and hospitals and their doctors, he says.

The amount of money Medicaid reimburses depends on individual state policies and other factors. However, reimbursement rates must fall between the federally established minimum and maximum payment limits.

According to Barsoom, many hospitals in urban areas are feeling a financial crunch because they treat so many Medicaid patients – yet the government pays only $140 for an emergency room visit in New Jersey. Consequently, hospitals are either forced to shoulder the burden and cut costs elsewhere, or bill people with private insurance more money. It’s an issue that other health care providers have also complained about in recent years.

“Medicaid payments do not even begin to pay for the care provided in an emergency room,” Barsoom said.

“Congress refuses to address health care costs for Americans, but they are patting themselves on the back for spending [nearly] $100 billion dollars for foreign conflicts,” he added. “How much more taxpayer money is Congress going to spend on foreign conflicts with no end in sight, while serious problems at home get ignored?”

• See Related: Doctor From Belleville Is Running For Congress Against Mikie Sherrill

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