Reps. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), and Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) led a Sept. 19 letter to congressional leadership urging action to prevent scheduled cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program (PDF). The bipartisan letter, which was signed by 141 members of Congress, outlined the critical role of the Medicaid DSH program in supporting the nation’s health care safety net. “The Medicaid DSH program was established to ensure that hospitals which serve the nation’s most vulnerable, including children, the elderly and the disabled, would have the essential financial assistance available to continue their commitment to our communities.”
Absent congressional action, $8 billion in cuts to the Medicaid DSH program are scheduled to take effect on Oct. 1. The AAMC recently joined the hospital community in a joint letter to congressional leadership highlighting this deadline and urging action to prevent these cuts [refer to Washington Highlights, Sept. 12].
On Sept. 16, Republican leaders introduced a continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 21 and postpone reductions to the Medicaid DSH program until that date [refer to related story].