Congresswoman Carol Miller | Congresswoman Carol Miller Official website (https://miller.house.gov)
Congresswoman Carol Miller | Congresswoman Carol Miller Official website (https://miller.house.gov)
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Representative Carol Miller (R-WV) joined Representative Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), and 227 of their colleagues in sending a bipartisan letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to address the pending cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments. If these cuts were to go into effect, hospitals in rural America would face the loss of resources they need to care for our most vulnerable patients. The letter urges the leaders to take action in averting the scheduled reduction to the Medicaid DSH.
Click Here to read the full letter.
On Addressing Pending Cuts to Medicaid DSH Payments:
“We write to urge action to address pending cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2023. If the proposed cuts go into effect, rural and urban safety net hospitals will lose critical funding that enables them to keep their doors open and treat the most vulnerable Americans.”
On the Impact of Medicaid DSH Payments:
“Medicaid DSH payments are an important tool for hospitals that provide care in underserved communities, where they serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients. In treating those that have nowhere else to turn, these hospitals incur significant uncompensated care costs. Furthermore, these same hospitals typically operate on very narrow, or even negative, margins. Medicaid DSH payments allow them to continue serving our constituents and communities. These payments support safety net hospitals in cities across the country and are also especially important to rural hospitals, which often face their own added financial burdens.”
On the Pending Cut of Medicaid DSH Payments:
“On October 1st, safety net hospitals will face an $8 billion annual cut that is equivalent to more than two-thirds of annual federal DSH spending. These cuts would continue apace through FY2027. Importantly, these cuts don’t impact states evenly. In fact, some states, according to the Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC), will face cuts of 90 percent of their current DSH allotments.”
“Our nation's rural and urban safety net hospitals cannot sustain losses of this magnitude, leaving our constituents and communities without access to the medical care they depend on and need.”
Click Here for a full list of members signed on the letter.
Original source can be found here.
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