[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 9, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3688-S3689]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   RECOGNIZING NATIONAL HOSPITAL WEEK

 Mr. GRAMS. Mr. President, I rise today to praise the work of 
Minnesota's hospitals and those across America as we recognize National 
Hospital Week. This year's theme, ``Touching The Future With Care,'' 
focuses on the heart of the hospital system: its people. For those 
Minnesota doctors, nurses, administrators, and volunteers who 
consistently provide the highest level of quality health care in 
America, I commend your selfless efforts. You are very deserving of our 
recognition here today.
  Hospitals are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, providing their 
communities with around-the-clock health care services. In my own state 
of Minnesota, 142 hospitals and 22 different health care systems 
provide Minnesotans with one of the most efficient and effective health 
care systems in the United States. This is not a result of mere chance. 
Rather, it is the combined efforts of our health care professionals--
those men and women who devote themselves to the delivery of timely, 
quality health care, when and where it is needed.
  As we all know, American hospitals have faced severe challenges over 
the last several years due to rapidly declining reimbursement rates 
under Medicare. The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 made dramatic changes 
to the payment rates to hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and 
individual providers. In fact, Medpac, Congress' Medicare Payment 
Advisory Commission, reported that profit margins for hospitals across 
the country dropped nearly 40 percent between 1998 and 1999. This is 
the lowest level in 20 years. And to add insult to injury, the 
Congressional Budget Office reported that Medicare payments, which 
serve as one of the largest revenue sources to hospitals, would realize 
a 62% decrease over the next five years. Clearly, in an industry that 
is already running on fumes, we cannot afford to cut deeper into the 
margins of hospitals and simply hope that they will be able to absorb 
the added losses and continue to provide the quality health care that 
we expect.
  Last year, in an effort to reduce some of this burden, Congress 
attempted to address the problem with the 1999 Balanced Budget 
Refinement Act. This legislation restored some of the drastic cuts 
called for in 1997, and provided relief in payments for outpatient 
services. This effort has already made a measurable difference and has 
enabled many hospitals and other providers to remain in business. Yet, 
this is only half the problem.
  The Balanced Budget Refinement Act addressed outpatient care provided 
by hospitals, and now, through legislation

[[Page S3689]]

I cosponsored earlier this year called the American Hospital 
Preservation Act, we are addressing inpatient services. This is the 
other half of the equation. The American Hospital Preservation Act will 
help restore the scheduled 1.1 percent reduction in the inflation rate 
adjustment for in-patient services for years 2001 and 2002. Most 
importantly, this legislation will allow hospitals to better keep up 
with rapid increases in health-related costs.
  Mr. President, we in Congress have a big task ahead of us. We need to 
remain steadfast in our commitment to these institutions and complement 
the efforts of the people who devote so much of themselves to saving 
and preserving the lives of others. National Hospital Week exists so 
that we may remember and recognize the efforts of these organizations, 
and more importantly, the people who work within them. I am proud of 
the level of quality health care that is provided through our city and 
rural hospitals in Minnesota, and I am going to continue to do all I 
can to help preserve the integrity of these institutions on which we 
all rely.

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