Congressman Gonzalez Leads Group of 70+ Lawmakers Urging Ryan, Pelosi, McConnell and Schumer to Immediately Address Medicaid Cuts

WASHINGTON—Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15) sent a letter urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Speaker of the House of Representatives Paul Ryan, and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to address the impending cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share (DSH) program scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2017.

The Medicaid DHS program is intended to recognize the disadvantaged financial situation of hospitals who serve low-income and uninsured patients, and to help ensure these hospitals can continue serving Medicaid patients. Federal DSH payments are slated to be reduced by $2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2018. In total, the Medicaid DSH cuts will equal $43 billion through FY 2025.

"It is critical that congressional leadership act swiftly to halt these deep cuts to Medicaid," Congressman Gonzalez said. "Our nation's most vulnerable rely on this program for quality and affordable healthcare. My colleagues and I look forward to working with House and Senate leadership to protect our constituents' access to care and prevent these devastating cuts from becoming a reality."

The letter was co-signed by over 70 members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Read the full letter below to congressional leadership or see the official letter attached:

September 13, 2017

Re: Medicaid DSH Cuts

Dear Majority Leader McConnell, Minority Leader Schumer, Speaker Ryan, and Democratic Leader Pelosi,

As Congress continues to consider important health care legislation, we write to you about an urgent matter requiring immediate attention – the impending cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share (DSH) program scheduled to take effect October 1, 2017 (FY 2018). We ask you to make the elimination of these harmful cuts a priority of the highest order.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA, P.L. 111-148, as amended) reduced federal funding for Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments under the assumption that hospital uncompensated care costs would decline as insurance coverage increased. Uncompensated care continues to burden safety-net hospitals, and as a result, Congress has previously, on a bipartisan basis, delayed the reductions several times. However, federal DSH payments are slated to be reduced by $2 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2018. In total, the Medicaid DSH cuts will equal $43 billion through FY 2025.

The Medicaid DSH program is intended to recognize the disadvantaged financial situation of hospitals who serve low-income and uninsured patients, and to help ensure these hospitals can continue serving Medicaid patients. DSH payments help offset hospitals' uncompensated care costs and are absolutely vital for the continued ability of safety net hospitals to care for our nation's most needy populations. The looming Medicaid DSH cuts will impact every aspect of health care delivery and will have a disproportionate and devastating impact on hospitals that serve a higher than average proportion of low-income, Medicaid, and uninsured patients. These safety-net hospitals provide life-saving and essential access to health care while operating in low-margin environments with high uncompensated care costs. The size of the cuts envisioned will severely and negatively impact access to health care in the most vulnerable communities across the country.

Eliminating the prospect of the harmful DSH cuts will bring more certainty to the health care landscape and help ensure that safety-net hospitals will be able to continue providing access to the highest quality care for low income families, Medicaid beneficiaries, the uninsured, and the indigent.

Sincerely,

Vicente Gonzalez

Member of Congress

The letter was co-signed by: Congresswomen Terri Sewell (AL-07), Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18), Colleen Hanabusa (HI-01), Lucille Roybal-Allard (CA-40), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09), Nydia M. Velazquez (NY-07), Joyce Beatty (OH-03), Niki Tsongas (MA-03), Alma S. Adams (NC-12), Norma J. Torres (CA-35), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Tulsi Gabbard (HI-02), Cheri Bustos (IL-17), Barbara Lee (CA-13), Nanette Diaz Barragan (CA-44), Lisa Blunt Rochester (DE-At Large), Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Marcia L. Fudge (OH-11), Maxine Waters (CA-43), Betty McCollum (MN-04), Congressmen Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Tom O'Halleran (AZ-01), Sean Patrick Maloney (NY-18), Sanford D. Bishop, Jr. (GA-02), Bobby L. Rush (IL-01), Keith Ellison (MN-05), William R. Keating (MA-09), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Marc Veasey (TX-33), Robert A. Brady (PA-01), Steve Cohen (TN-09), Ted Lieu (CA-33), Peter J. Visclosky (IN-01), John Conyers Jr. (MI-13), Peter Welch (VT-At Large), G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Henry Cuellar, PhD (TX-28), Jerrold Nadler (NY-10), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Jose E. Serrano (NY-15), Andre Carson (IN-07), Gregory W. Meeks (NY-05), Bill Foster (IL-11), Emanuel Cleaver II (MO-05), David N. Cicilline (RI-01), Danny K. Davis (IL-07), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Dwight Evans (PA-02), Peter A. DeFazio (OR-04), David E. Price (NC-04), Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08), Mark Pocan (WI-02), J. Luis Correa (CA-46), Daniel T. Kildee (MI-05), Salud Carbajal (CA-24), Daniel W. Lipinski (IL-03), Brendan F. Boyle (PA-13), Darren Soto (FL-09), Alan Lowenthal (CA-47), Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36), Alcee L. Hastings (FL-20), Bradley S. Schneider (IL-10), Hakeem Jefferies (NY-08), and Jamie Raskin (MD-08).