House Republican Letter Supports
Inclusion of Medicaid DSH Provisions in Medicare Conference
September 12, 2003 - Thirty-four House Republicans
signed a Sept. 9 letter urging inclusion of Medicaid Disproportionate
Share Hospital (DSH) payment relief in the Medicare conference
agreement. Limited to Republican signatures, the letter
was sent to Conference Committee Chairman Bill Thomas (Calif.)
and the other House Republican Medicare Conferees: Energy
and Commerce Committee Chairman Billy Tauzin (La.); House
Majority Leader Tom Delay (Texas); Ways and Means Health Subcommittee
Chair Nancy Johnson (Conn.); and Energy and Commerce Health
Subcommittee Chairman Michael Bilirakis (Fla.).
Warning that the Medicaid DSH program is "critical to
the fiscal integrity of hospitals in our districts and to
the healthcare infrastructure that serves all Americans,"
the letter strongly encourages inclusion of the House-passed
Medicaid DSH provision that curtails severe cuts to state
allotments and the Senate-passed provision that would temporarily
(in FYs 2004 and 2005) increase state Medicaid DSH allotments
for "extremely low DSH states" to 3 percent of their
overall Medicaid Spending. "Inclusion of these provisions
in the conference report," the letter concludes, "is
vital to gaining our support."
Coordinated by Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee members
Ed Whitfield (Ky.) and Heather Wilson (N.M.), the letter was
signed by fellow Subcommittee members Charlie Norwood (Ga.)
and Ernie Fletcher (Ky.) and House Republican Conference Chair
Deborah Pryce (Ohio). The other signatories included Reps.
Donald Manzullo (Ill.), Ron Lewis (Ky.), Harold Rogers (Ky.),
Mike Oxley (Ohio), Steven LaTourette (Ohio), Randy Cunningham
(Calif.), Duncan Hunter (Calif.), George Nethercutt (Wash.),
Jerry Lewis (Calif.), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), David Hobson
(Ohio), Elton Gallegly (Calif.), Robert Ney (Ohio), Jo Ann
Davis (Va.), Devin Nunes (Calif.), Henry Brown (S.C.), Anne
Northup (Ky.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Randy Neugerbauer (Texas),
Ray LaHood (Ill.), Mac Collins (Ga.), Ron Paul (Texas), George
Radonovich (Calif.), Randy Forbes (Va.), Ed Schrock (Va.),
Mary Bono (Calif.), Darrell Issa (Calif.), Johnny Isakson
(Ga.), and Patrick Tiberi (Ohio).
Christiane Mitchell, Senior Legislative Analyst
AAMC Government Relations
cmitchell@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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