Obamacare Impact on Hospitals

Floor Speech

Mr. Speaker, there has been much documented and published about the problems resulting from the Affordable Health Care Act. Millions of Americans are waking up to the cancelation of health insurance policies that they have depended on to meet their families' needs at an affordable price. There are skyrocketing premiums and deductible increases under the pressures of paying for coverage mandates they do not want, cannot afford, or may even have a moral objection to.

One area that has received little attention so far in this debate is what the impact will be on our hospitals, where much of the needed health care is provided by caring and competent professionals.

As a health care professional who served in rural hospitals for nearly 30 years as a therapist and a manager, I am confident that the future of rural and underserved urban hospitals is not good under the pressures and the mandates of ObamaCare.

While some point to tens of millions of Americans who were uninsured and now having some type of coverage--a plus for the bottom lines of hospitals--I would encourage a closer and more thoughtful look.

First, the CBO has estimated that, even after full implementation, there will still be tens of millions of Americans uninsured. Based on current reports from across America, this may include a lot of middle class Americans who find themselves, for the first time, unable to afford what ObamaCare dictated.

For hospitals, that ensures the continuation of bad debt and charity care that hampers their balance sheets. For lower-income individuals now insured under expanded medical assistance, it is true that hospitals will be paid, but they are going to be paid 40 to 60 cents for every dollar of care that they provide--not exactly a sustainable margin. More accurately, it is a pathway to bankruptcy for hospitals when coupled with the new-found population of uninsured.

Mix this with the cost of compliance that will be rolling out from the Obama administration of the approximately 130 new regulatory agencies founded under the ObamaCare legislation.

Today, the cost of compliance with government mandates, including Medicare billing and HIPAA, account for a significant part of any hospital's overhead expenses. Multiply this by 100 under the yet-to-be-administered mandates and the costs of care will have to dramatically increase just to keep the doors open and the lights on for every hospital.

The human resources cost of providing health care coverage for hospitals, whose number one asset is a qualified and trained employee, will increase as the ObamaCare employer mandate is finally implemented just a year from now.

Finally, consider the fees and taxes imposed on hospitals in 2014, just weeks away.

Earlier this week a hospital CEO from my district reported:

We're going to have to pay close to $200,000 next year, as will every hospital.

Hospitals will see various new fees, including a $5,000 levy so the government can do research on the effectiveness of hospitals working within the plan. Additionally, hospitals will pay a $19,500 health insurer's fee and a $160,000 transitional reinsurance fee that will go into a pot to protect insurance companies against the risk of winding up with numerous high-risk customers.

These are added costs for the hospitals that Americans rely on for access to health care. I have to wonder what now is so affordable about the Affordable Care Act. Bankrupt hospitals serve no one.

Americans deserve better.

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