FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement attributable to:
Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH
President and CEO
America’s Essential Hospitals
WASHINGTON — Today’s final rule for the fiscal year 2024 Inpatient Prospective Payment System will undermine the nation’s essential hospitals and safety net care for low-income and marginalized patients with its harmful policies on disproportionate share hospital (DSH) funding.
We are disappointed the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) finalized an even deeper cut to DSH payments than initially proposed. Further, the finalization of a new policy to exclude uncompensated care (UC) pool days from the Medicare DSH calculation will disproportionately harm essential hospitals in states with UC pools and ultimately decrease DSH payments to hospitals nationwide. The cumulative damage of these policy changes will weaken health equity efforts and, ultimately, hospitals that rely on Medicare DSH funds.
We are pleased CMS shows interest in defining and supporting hospitals that provide safety net care, and we look forward to continued collaboration with the agency to achieve this goal, including by reversing damaging payment policies.
# # #
About America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading association and champion for hospitals dedicated to equitable, high-quality care for all, including those who face social and financial barriers to care. Since 1981, America’s Essential Hospitals has advanced policies and programs that promote health, health care access, and equity. We support our more than 300 members with advocacy, policy development, research, education, and leadership development. Communities depend on essential hospitals for care across the continuum, health care workforce training, research, public health and health equity, and other services. Essential hospitals innovate and adapt to lead all of health care toward better outcomes and value. Learn more at https://essentialhospitals.org.
Contact:
Carl Graziano
cgraziano@essentialhospitals.org
202.585.0102
