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Letter to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Leader - Engel, Olson Lead 300 Members of Congress In Bipartisan Effort To Preserve Lifeline For Safety-Net Hospitals

Letter

By: Bradley Byrne, Terri Sewell, Raul Grijalva, Doug LaMalfa, Doris Matsui, Josh Harder, Eric Swalwell, Jimmy Panetta, Julia Brownley, Brad Sherman, Jimmy Gomez, Linda Sánchez, Ken Calvert, Lou Correa, Duncan Hunter, Martha Roby, Rick Crawford, Paul Gosar, Jared Huffman, Ami Bera, Mark DeSaulnier, Jim Costa, T.J. Cox, Judy Chu, Pete Aguilar, Norma Torres, Gil Cisneros, Maxine Waters, Alan Lowenthal, Juan Vargas, Joe Neguse, John Larson, Eleanor Norton, John Rutherford, Val Demings, Alcee Hastings, Sr., Frederica Wilson, Sanford Bishop, Jr., Austin Scott, Ed Case, Steve King, Dan Lipinski, Danny Davis, Bill Foster, Roger Marshall, John Yarmuth, Clay Higgins, Jim McGovern, Seth Moulton, Dutch Ruppersberger, Jamie Raskin, Elissa Slotkin, Brenda Lawrence, Lacy Clay, Jr., Sam Graves, Steven Palazzo, Alma Adams, Donald Norcross, Joshua Gottheimer, Don Payne, Jr., Xochitl Torres Small, Lee Zeldin, Gregory Meeks, Yvette Clarke, Adriano Espaillat, Nita Lowey, Elise Stefanik, Joe Morelle, Mike Turner, Dave Joyce, Kendra Horn, Kurt Schrader, Madeleine Dean, Dan Meuser, Mike Doyle, Jr., Joe Wilson, Sr., Phil Roe, John Rose, Dan Crenshaw, Al Green, Mac Thornberry, Bill Flores, Will Hurd, Donald Young, Robert Aderholt, Ann Kirkpatrick, Greg Stanton, Mike Thompson, Jerry McNerney, Jackie Speier, Zoe Lofgren, Katie Hill, Tony Cárdenas, Ted Lieu, Karen Bass, Mark Takano, Katie Porter, Mike Levin, Susan Davis, Jason Crow, Rosa DeLauro, Neal Dunn, Stephanie Murphy, Charlie Crist, Jr., Ted Deutch, Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, John Lewis, Rick Allen, Abby Finkenauer, Bobby Rush, Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowsky, Pete Visclosky, Sharice Davids, Andy Barr, Ralph Abraham, Joe Kennedy III, Stephen Lynch, Anthony Brown, Jack Bergman, Haley Stevens, Betty McCollum, Vicky Hartzler, Trent Kelly, David Price, Chris Pappas, Andy Kim, Albio Sires, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Dina Titus, Thomas Suozzi, Nydia Velázquez, Max Rose, José Serrano, Antonio Delgado, Tom Reed II, Joyce Beatty, Troy Balderson, Anthony Gonzalez, Earl Blumenauer, Brendan Boyle, Chrissy Houlahan, GT Thompson, Jr., Jim Langevin, Ralph Norman, Jr., Chuck Fleischmann, Steve Cohen, Ron Wright, Mike Conaway, Vicente Gonzalez, Jodey Arrington, Michael Cloud, John Carter, Lloyd Doggett II, Donald Beyer, Jr., Suzan DelBene, Derek Kilmer, Mark Pocan, Pete Olson, Mike Rogers, Tom O'Halleran, Ruben Gallego, John Garamendi, Paul Cook, Barbara Lee, Ro Khanna, Salud Carbajal, Adam Schiff, Grace Napolitano, Raul Ruiz, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Nanette Barragán, Harley Rouda, Scott Peters, Doug Lamborn, Joe Courtney, Lisa Blunt Rochester, Mike Waltz, Gus Bilirakis, Lois Frankel, Mario Diaz-Balart, Hank Johnson, Jr., Jody Hice, Tulsi Gabbard, Mike Simpson, Chuy Garcia, Raja Krishnamoorthi, Cheri Bustos, Steven Watkins, Jr., Hal Rogers, Mike Johnson, Lori Trahan, Ayanna Pressley, John Sarbanes, Jared Golden, Andy Levin, Angie Craig, Blaine Luetkemeyer, Billy Long, G. K. Butterfield, Jr., Donald Bacon, Jeff Van Drew, Tom Malinowski, Mikie Sherrill, Ben Luján, Jr., Pete King, Grace Meng, Jerry Nadler, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Sean Maloney, Anthony Brindisi, Brian Higgins, Marcia Fudge, Steve Stivers, Suzanne Bonamici, Brian Fitzpatrick, Mary Scanlon, Guy Reschenthaler, David Cicilline, William Timmons, Tim Burchett, David Kustoff, Lance Gooden, Michael McCaul, Randy Weber, Sr., Sheila Jackson Lee, Roger Williams, Eddie Johnson, Filemon Vela, Jr., Donald McEachin, Peter Welch, Dan Newhouse, Denny Heck, Carol Miller, Diana DeGette, Ed Perlmutter, Jim Himes, Ted Yoho, Darren Soto, Kathy Castor, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Donna Shalala, Lucy McBath, David Scott, Cindy Axne, Robin Kelly, Sean Casten, Brad Schneider, André Carson, James Comer, Jr., Cedric Richmond, Garret Graves, Katherine Clark, Bill Keating, David Trone, Dan Kildee, Debbie Dingell, Ilhan Omar, Emanuel Cleaver II, Michael Guest, David Rouzer, Annie Kuster, Chris Smith, Bill Pascrell, Jr., Deb Haaland, Steven Horsford, Kathleen Rice, Hakeem Jeffries, Carolyn Maloney, Eliot Engel, Paul Tonko, John Katko, Marcy Kaptur, Tim Ryan, Tom Cole, Peter DeFazio, Dwight Evans, Susan Wild, Conor Lamb, Joe Cunningham, Dusty Johnson, Jim Cooper, Louie Gohmert, Lizzie Fletcher, Kay Granger, Veronica Escobar, Joaquin Castro, Henry Cuellar, Colin Allred, Brian Babin, Jennifer Wexton, Rick Larsen, Pramila Jayapal, Gwen Moore, Sylvia Garcia, Marc Veasey, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Kim Schrier, David McKinley
Date: May 16, 2019
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Health and Health Care

Dear Speaker Pelosi and Leader McCarthy:

We write to express our concern regarding the impact of impending cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments, scheduled to take effect on October 1, 2019. Medicaid DSH payments allow hospitals nationwide to treat our most vulnerable Americans. We urge you to take action to delay these cuts for at least two years.

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan and Congress created Medicaid DSH payments to sustain hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients. In treating those who have nowhere else to turn, these hospitals incur uncompensated costs. Furthermore, these same hospitals typically operate on very narrow, or even negative, margins. Medicaid DSH payments allow them to continue serving our constituents and communities. Medicaid DSH payments not only support hospitals in cities across the country, these payments are also especially important to rural hospitals, which often face added financial burdens.

Since 2013, Congress has recognized the importance of Medicaid DSH payments by delaying cuts to the program four different times, most recently The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 delayed the start of the reductions until FY 2020.

Should Congress fail to delay the cuts scheduled to begin on October 1, safety net hospitals will face a financial shortfall of $4 billion in FY 2020. These cuts will grow to $8 billion in FY 2021.

Our nation's hospitals cannot sustain losses of this magnitude. Institutions will be forced to shutter, leaving our constituents and communities without a vital safeguard.

Until a more sustainable, permanent solution is reached, we ask that you work to delay these cuts for at least two fiscal years. This delay will ensure that hospitals can continue to care for the most vulnerable in our communities.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to your response.


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