FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement attributable to:
Beth Feldpush, DrPH
Senior Vice President of Policy and Advocacy
America’s Essential Hospitals
WASHINGTON—The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) made a wise and welcome decision today to withdraw its proposed Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Regulation (MFAR), especially as state budgets and providers strain under the heavy financial burden and economic fallout of COVID-19.
We thank CMS Administrator Seema Verma for hearing our concerns and recognizing the potential for this rule to undermine Medicaid and harm access to care. We appreciate her leadership and willingness to acknowledge the unintended consequences of this approach to regulating state Medicaid financing.
We also thank House and Senate members for raising bipartisan concerns with the administration about this damaging proposal. The nation’s essential hospitals and their low-income patients rely on Medicaid to make affordable, high-quality health care available to all. We must work to preserve and strengthen Medicaid and advance innovation in this vital safety-net program.
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About America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading champion for hospitals and health systems dedicated to high-quality care for all, including the most vulnerable. We support our more than 300 members with advocacy, policy development, research, and education. Communities depend on essential hospitals to provide specialized, lifesaving services; train the health care workforce; advance public health and health equity; and coordinate care. Essential hospitals innovate and adapt to lead the way to more effective and efficient care. Learn more at essentialhospitals.org.
Contact:
Carl Graziano
cgraziano@essentialhospitals.org
202.585.0102
