Maryland gets $1.78M grant aimed at reducing hospital room visits

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services awarded Maryland a $1.78 million grant to help improve primary care access and avoid unnecessary emergency room visits.

The state's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene plans to use the two-year grant to create three regional health care teams involving a regional hospital and several community health care providers. In each of the region's, the state will try to redirect patients using the emergency rooms inappropriately to community care providers to reduce uncompensated care costs at local hospitals.

Maryland will receive $732,216 in 2008 and $1.056 million in 2009 to pay for the creation of the teams.

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"We are committed to working closely with the states to implement effective reforms to slow spending growth while maintaining access to coverage," Kerry Weems, CMS acting administrator said.

The federal agency awarded more than $50 million to 20 states.