Can’t Hopkins just raise its rates to increase revenues?
No. The escalation of hospital costs has been a major public concern. This concern led the Maryland legislature to create the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) in 1971 to set the rates that Maryland’s hospitals may charge. Working together, the HSCRC and Maryland’s hospitals have successfully slowed the rate of increase in hospital costs that Maryland residents must pay. Hospitals receive an annual “rate order” from the HSCRC that establishes the rates hospitals can charge during the fiscal year. As a result, The Johns Hopkins Hospital does not have the ability to increase or decrease patient rates in order to meet the growing challenges of the health care industry. More Information: High Cost of Needed Health Care Facilities Q: The Union uses wage data from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC) Wage and Salary Survey to suggest that Hopkins pays it workers less than other Maryland Hospitals. What about that? A: Good question, since the HSCRC
