[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 179 (Friday, November 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1503]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DELAY MEDICAID DSH CUTS

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                          HON. JOSEPH CROWLEY

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 3, 2017

  Mr. CROWLEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge Congress to delay the 
cuts to Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments that 
went into effect on October 1, and to protect our nation's safety net 
hospitals from financial ruin.
  Medicaid DSH hospitals serve a high proportion of Medicaid recipients 
as well as underinsured or completely uninsured Americans. These 
hospitals bear the risk of caring for the most vulnerable members of 
our districts because they recognize the inextricable value of healthy 
communities: when we are healthy together, we thrive together. It is 
our duty to return the favor to the hospitals that ensure our 
communities have a secure health care safety net.
  If Congress does not act soon to delay Medicaid DSH cuts, safety net 
hospitals across the country will face a twenty percent cut in federal 
funding. In my home district in Queens and the Bronx, Medicaid DSH 
hospitals stand to lose over $409 million over the next ten years. I 
cannot stand by as Congress throws our safety net hospitals into an 
economic upheaval.
  However, I also cannot stand by as Congress brings forth a proposal--
the CHAMPIONING HEALTHY KIDS Act (H.R. 3922)--to pay for a delay of 
Medicaid DSH cuts for two years by imposing steeper cuts on those same 
hospitals in future years, among other flaws.
  This legislation is an example of how this Republican-led Congress 
has championed partisan gridlock that threatens the vitality of our 
safety net hospitals. Within a package to delay Medicaid DSH cuts and 
extend federal funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program 
(CHIP) and community health centers, Republicans proposed several 
problematic offsets that would ultimately set our health care system 
back. For example, certain changes to Medicaid would inhibit access to 
pediatric providers, and cuts to the ACA's Prevention and Public Health 
Fund would undermine the value of preventive services delivered at 
community health centers. Furthermore, the package would lead to higher 
premiums for certain seniors receiving Medicare benefits and shorter 
grace periods for individuals who receive their health coverage through 
the individual market. In other words, this package would slash 
benefits and protections for one group of beneficiaries to extend 
services for another. Democrats will not stand for any packages that 
would rob Peter to pay Paul.
  I cannot in good conscience vote for a package that starts a food 
fight amongst different groups of beneficiaries. And I cannot in good 
conscience vote for a bill that would be so irresponsible to the long-
term financial viability of the hospitals that are a flagship for the 
most vulnerable constituents in my district.
  I urge my Republican colleagues to drop this partisan exercise and 
work with us on a compromise to extend these long-standing, successful, 
bipartisan federal health programs. The job of our nation's safety net 
hospitals is much too important to bear the brunt of needless political 
games.

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