Sen. Feinstein Letter: From
Senate Democrats to Senate Majority Leader Daschle
September 9, 2002
Dear Senator Daschle:
We are writing to express our deep concern about the expiration
of the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) provision
included in the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement
and Protection Act of 2000 (BIPA). This provision provided
crucial, but temporary relief, from the deep reductions in
State Medicaid allotments that were contained in the Balanced
Budget Act of 1997 (BBA). With the BIPA provision, Congress
recognized that the funding cuts in the BBA could cripple
health care safety net services throughout our nation. Without
immediate legislative action, however, this provision will
expire on October 1, 2002.
We are committed to preventing these devastating cuts. We
want to see enactment of two bills that address the adequacy
of DSH, one of our nation's major sources of care for the
uninsured and under-insured. The Medicaid Safety Net Hospital
Continued Preservation Act (S.
572) sponsored by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL) would eliminate
the scheduled Fiscal Year 2003 drop-off in federal Medicaid
DSH funding and permit funding for each State's DSH program
to grow with inflation. Also important, the Medicaid Safety
Net Hospital Improvement Act (S.
776) sponsored by Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) would permit
states with historically small DSH programs to increase their
federal DSH allotments to 3 percent of a State's Medicaid
spending.
It is imperative that these bills are included in any Medicare
provider legislation considered this year. It would be difficult
to support any Medicare provider legislation in the Senate
this year that does not include these crucial Medicaid bills.
Medicaid DSH is a key source of support for low-income care
in this country, and helps to sustain critical community services
like high-risk neonatal care, trauma and burn centers, and
specialty children's care.
We appreciate your consideration of our views on this critically
important issue, and look forward to working with you to ensure
adequate funding for the Medicaid DSH program.
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