Massachusetts government has slightly lowered the hospital surcharge paid to hospitals and ambulatory surgical care centers. Hospital surcharges paid on or after October 1st have dropped from 2% to 1.9%.

“The surcharge is imposed on third-party claims administrators, health maintenance organizations, preferred provider organizations and employers nationwide that administer their own health fare plans.” – Massachusetts Lowers Hospital Surcharge.

The surcharge was previously used to reimburse hospitals care given touninsured patients. Now under a new health reform the surcharges will gradually shift from paying the hospitals to subsidizing premiums for health insurance of the lower-income and uninsured.