FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement attributable to:
Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH
President and CEO
America’s Essential Hospitals
WASHINGTON — Today’s House vote moves us a step closer to protecting funding for hospitals that care for uninsured and underinsured patients and to preserving access to care for our nation’s children.
We now call on the Senate to act in bipartisan fashion to do the same: Delay damaging cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments by at least two years and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) by five years.
Millions of individuals and families depend on hospitals that rely on DSH funding to maintain services. Deep cuts that started Oct. 1 threaten access to care for those in need and put community-wide services at risk, including trauma care and disaster response.
More than a month has passed since DSH cuts started; we cannot afford to wait another month. The House and Senate must quickly find a bipartisan path forward to halting the DSH cuts and extending CHIP. The nation’s essential hospitals are ready to work with lawmakers on sustainable solutions.
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About America’s Essential Hospitals
America’s Essential Hospitals is the leading association and champion for hospitals and health systems dedicated to high-quality care for all, including the most vulnerable. Since 1981, America’s Essential Hospitals has initiated, advanced, and preserved programs and policies that help these hospitals ensure access to care. We support members with advocacy, policy development, research, and education.
Our 325 members are vital to their communities, providing primary care through trauma care, disaster response, health professional training, research, public health programs, and other services. They innovate and adapt to lead the broader health care community toward more effective and efficient care.
Contact:
Carl Graziano
cgraziano@essentialhospitals.org
202-585-0102
