FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 26, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: 

e: jessica.myers@mail.house.gov

c: 202.913.0126

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY) led a bipartisan letter to Speaker Johnson and Democratic Leader Jeffries calling for her legislation to protect safety-net hospitals from Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts, the Save our Safety-Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 9351), to be included in a year end spending package.

“As Congress works to address outstanding issues before the end of the calendar year, we write to respectfully request that you include our bipartisan legislation, the Save our Safety-Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 9351), in a year end package. This legislation seeks to address unintended consequences of policy impacting how much Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding our safety-net hospitals can receive. Absent Congressional action, hospitals in our districts will experience significant cuts to this critical resource threatening access to care as soon as next spring.” The Members continued, “In light of these impending losses and the significant impact they would have on access to care, we introduced H.R. 9351 which would amend Sec. 203 by preserving a hospital’s ability to include Medicaid-Medicare dual-eligible in their DSH caps and prevent substantial cuts in much needed resources. Should Congress fail to pass H.R. 9351, hospitals across the country will see substantial reductions to their DSH payments beginning early next year.”

“Indiana hospitals that incur significant uncompensated costs for their low-income, dually eligible Medicare patients face substantial cuts in Medicaid DSH payments due to the unintended consequences of Section 203 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. In order to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens continue to have access to the healthcare they need, it is imperative that Congress pass this important piece of legislation before the end of the year,” said Scott B. Tittle, President of the Indiana Hospital Association.

“HANYS applauds Rep. Clarke for her steadfast leadership in protecting precious federal resources for the hospitals and health systems in her district and throughout the state. We are grateful for the bipartisan show of force from the New York delegation to fix an inadvertent cut of Medicaid DSH resources for hospitals that treat a significant portion of Medicaid and Medicare patients,” said Bea Grause, RN, JD, President of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS). “I join Reps. Clarke, LaLota and Lawler in calling for passage of the Save Our Safety-Net Hospitals Act before Congress adjourns in December.”

“We thank Reps. Clarke, LaLota, Matsui, Bucshon, Mrvan, and Lawler for their leadership on the Save our Safety-Net Hospitals Act; this would protect hospitals caring for the most disadvantaged. The legislation remedies a devastating policy that threatens the Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding on which essential hospitals rely to sustain care for their communities,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, President and CEO of America’s Essential Hospitals.

The full text of the letter is available here.

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