House Republicans Express
Need for Teaching Hospital Relief
September 19, 2003 - Forty-seven House Republicans
sent a letter Sept. 16 to House and
Senate Republican Medicare conferees and the House leadership
urging them to ensure that the final Medicare agreement include
relief for teaching hospitals. The letter, led by Rep. Chris
Shays (R-Conn.), specifically urges the conferees to restore
Medicare Indirect Medical Education (IME) payments to 6.5
percent for several years.
Noting that Medicare IME payments have been reduced by 29
percent since 1997, the letter states "[T]eaching hospitals
provide sophisticated and essential standby services and clinical
care, such as burn and trauma care, and bone marrow and organ
transplant service" and are often the "only providers
of such critical services. Because major teaching hospitals
have the lowest total margins of all hospitals (1.5 percent),
we are concerned that these critical services could be jeopardized
if the IME is not restored to the fiscal year 2002 level."
Besides Rep. Shays, the letter has the following Republican
signatures: John Sweeney (N.Y.), Ray LaHood (Ill.), Peter
King (N.Y.), Jim Leach (Iowa), Jack Quinn (N.Y.), Fred Upton
(Mich.), Thaddeus McCotter (Mich.), Phil English (Pa.), Tim
Johnson (Ill.), James Greenwood (Pa.), Christopher Smith (Conn.),
Todd Platts (Pa.), Jim Walsh (N.Y.), Steve LaTourette (Ohio),
Mike Rogers (Mich.), Tim Murphy (Pa.), Vito Fossella (N.Y.),
Melissa Hart (Pa.), William Jenkins (Tenn.), Jim Gerlach (Pa.),
Jo Ann Emerson (Mo.), William Janklow (S.D.), Charlie Norwood
(Ga.), Bill Shuster (Pa.), Charles Bass (N.H.), John Duncan
(Tenn.), John McHugh (N.Y.), Zach Wamp (Tenn.), Curt Weldon
(Pa.), Sherwood Boehlert (N.Y.), Walter Jones (N.C.), Don
Sherwood (Pa.), Don Manzullo (Ill.), Shelly Moore Capito (W.Va.),
John Shimkus (Ill.), George Nethercutt (Wash.), Doug Ose (Calif.),
Jerry Moran (Kan.), Jeb Bradley (N.H.), George Radanovich
(Calif.), Vern Ehlers (Mich.), John Boozman (Ark.), Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen (Fla.), Jerry Lewis (Calif.), Frank LoBiondo
(N.J.), and Mark Kirk (Ill.).
In addition, the AAMC and other hospital organizations participated
in a Sept. 11 meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman
Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) to discuss hospital payment issues
in the House and Senate passed Medicare bills. Specifically,
the meeting focused on ensuring that the final Medicare agreement
includes a full update to hospital inpatient payments. Currently,
the House-passed Medicare bill would reduce the update (known
as the market basket) by 0.4 percent, saving the Medicare
program approximately $12 billion over 10 years. Sen. Grassley
strongly supports a full update and urged the hospital community
to reinforce their support for a full update. Representatives
from the American Hospital Association, Catholic Health Association,
Federation of American Hospitals and National Association
of Public Hospitals also attended the meeting.
Lynne Davis Boyle, Assistant Vice President
AAMC Government Relations
ldavisboyle@aamc.org
(202) 828-0526
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