Medicaid DSH Legislation
Introduced
March 21, 2003 - Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) March
18 introduced bipartisan legislation (S.
652) that would nullify the Oct. 1, 2002, reductions to
Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments.
The bill's original cosponsors include Sens. Bob Graham (D-Fla.),
Mike DeWine (R-Ohio), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Warner
(R-Va.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.),
Gordon Smith (R-Ore.), John Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Jim Bunning
(R-Ky.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.),
Mary Landrieu (D-La.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Kay Bailey
Hutchison (R-Texas).
Specifically, S. 652 would extend the Medicaid DSH provisions
within the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement
and Protection Act (BIPA 2000) that expired last October,
subsequently preventing FY 2003 allotments from reverting
to the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 (BBA) FY 2002 levels, adjusted
by inflation. The legislation would be retroactive to Oct.
1 of last year and would apply to allotments in FY 2003 and
beyond. AAMC-supported companion legislation has already been
introduced in the House ("Access to Hospitals Act,"
H.R.
328) The AAMC supported similar legislation introduced
during the 107th Congress.
A second Medicaid DSH bill (H.R. 1342) was introduced on
March 18, which would increase the DSH allotment "floor"
for states with allotments less than 3 percent of Medicaid
spending. Introduced by Reps. Heather Wilson (R-N.M) and Jerry
Kleczka (D-Wisc.), H.R. 1342 would bring the floor up to 3
percent. Sens. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.)
have already introduced an AAMC-supported Senate version ("Medicaid
Safety Net Improvement Act," S.
204). Similar legislation was introduced in the 107th
Congress and was supported by the AAMC. According to a National
Associaiton of Public Hospitals (NAPH) analysis of Congressional
Budget Office data, states that would benefit from H.R. 1342
include Alaska, Arkansas, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland,
Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma,
Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
Information:
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Affairs Manager
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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