America’s Essential Hospitals represents more than 300 hospitals and health systems across the country that provide high-quality care to millions of patients, including those who face social and economic barriers to care. With government funding set to expire Dec. 20 and various health policy issues facing a Jan. 1 deadline, America’s Essential Hospital on Nov. 7 sent a letter to Congress highlighting key priorities that require attention and support. These priorities include:
- Achieve a permanent solution to the threat of Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payment cuts by acting before the Jan. 1, 2025 deadline to eliminate the remaining three years of cuts.
- Include the Save Our Safety-Net Hospitals Act of 2024 (H.R. 9351) in any year-end package, which would mitigate the unintended effects of Section 203 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA), 2021, that would cut Medicaid DSH payments for hospitals that serve a high share of patients dually eligible for Medicaid and Medicare.
- Make permanent those policies on telehealth, which are set to expire in December, and programs that allow providers to expand access to care and improve the health of their communities.
- Extend, for five years, Hospital-at-Home program flexibilities and waivers, set to expire in December, that allow Medicare-certified hospitals to continue providing inpatient-level care at home.
- Protect the 340B program and ensure all stakeholders comply with the law.
- Protect access to care in underserved communities and support the safety net by rejecting so called “site-neutral” payment policies, which would disproportionately harm essential hospitals, their patients, and the communities they serve to boost the profits of big health insurance companies.
- Pass the bipartisan Reinforcing Essential Health Systems for Communities Act (H.R. 7397), critical legislation to support the nation’s health care safety net, before 2024 ends, to protect essential hospitals.
- Expand, protect, and fund the health care workforce through policies that will enable essential hospitals to continue caring for Americans with the greatest health and socioeconomic needs and through the expansion of Medicare GME caps.
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