[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 18104]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     OBAMACARE IMPACT ON HOSPITALS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. 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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