[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 72 (Tuesday, May 12, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1119]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          THE MEDICAID BIRTH CENTER REIMBURSEMENT ACT OF 2009

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                          HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, May 12, 2009

  Mrs. DAVIS of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce 
the Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act.
  Birth centers offer an alternative birthing environment to hospitals 
for mothers with healthy, low-risk pregnancies. They are also part of a 
vital safety net for Medicaid mothers across the country.
  Last year, administrators at a birth center in my district reached 
out to me, distraught with what they saw as an impending Medicaid 
repayment crisis. Even though birth centers had been recognized as 
Medicaid providers by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 
(CMS)--and, earlier, by HCFA--since 1987, over the past few years, CMS 
has begun disallowing federal matching funds for state Medicaid 
payments for freestanding birth center facility fees.
  A recent decision by a federal administrative judge ruled against 
birth centers in a Texas Medicaid case, stating that CMS is not 
required to pay any state their federal match for birth center facility 
fees.
  Without payment of these facility fees, birth centers in all states 
could be pushed to the brink of closure.
  Today, I, along with my colleague Representative Gus Bilirakis, am 
introducing the Medicaid Birth Center Reimbursement Act, to ensure 
Medicaid birth center facility fee payments to states.
  I urge you, Madam Speaker, and all of my colleagues, to support this 
legislation and ensure continued access to quality health care for 
pregnant women served by our Medicaid system in their districts.

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