Morgan Griffith: Bay State Boondoggle Update

From Congressman Morgan Griffith's E-Newsletter:

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Previous columns have included sections regarding the so-called “Bay State Boondoggle” – a provision in President Obama’s health care reform law that changes Medicare funding formulas to benefit some States – including Massachusetts, which is the most notable example – at the expense of the remaining States.

As Donald Berwick, the former Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator, said, “What Massachusetts gets comes from everybody else.” According to the House Ways and Means Committee, hospitals in Massachusetts are expected to receive hundreds of millions of dollars more than they otherwise would have been entitled to. These hundreds of millions more that Massachusetts’ hospitals receive due to this “Bay State Boondoggle” come from the other States, including Virginia.

A recent opinion piece in the Boston Globe highlighting this problem said “the right prescription is to get rid of the boondoggle itself.” I agree. H.R. 2053 was recently introduced in the House to repeal the “Bay State Boondoggle,” and I am proud to be one of the bill’s original cosponsors.

Earlier this year, the Senate adopted an amendment to their budget that symbolically repeals the “Bay State Boondoggle.” I am hopeful that the House will soon vote on H.R. 2053, evening the playing field for the other States including Virginia.

As always, if you have questions, concerns, or comments, feel free to call my Abingdon office at 276-525-1405 or my Christiansburg office at 540-381-5671. To reach my office by email, please visit my website at www.morgangriffith.house.gov. "