The U.S. Senate has approved a measure to continue funding for the federal government through Dec. 20, including $4 billion in Medicaid DSH payments slated for cuts, according to Politico.
The Senate passed the continuing resolution with a vote of 74-20 on Nov. 21, two days after the House approved delaying the Medicaid DSH cuts. President Donald Trump subsequently signed the funding bill, CNN reports.
Under the Medicaid DSH program, hospitals that serve a disproportionate share of low-income patients receive payments to help cover the costs of caring for them. Assuming uncompensated care costs would decline as the number of insured people increased, the ACA lowered the payments to hospitals. But a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gave states the option to expand Medicaid has kept more people from becoming insured.
Since 2013, Congress has repeatedly delayed the Medicaid DSH cuts. The most recent delay came in the current continuing resolution which temporarily averts the $4 billion cuts in fiscal year 2020.
Karen Fisher, the chief public policy offcer of the Association of American Medical Colleges, praised the decision by Congress, which also temporarily extends health programs, including the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, community health centers, teaching health centers and the National Health Service Corps.
"The AAMC is relieved Congress voted to avoid a government shutdown, delay cuts to the Medicaid DSH program, and continue PCORI's authorization in today's continuing resolution," she said in a news release. "However, we continue to urge policymakers to work together in a bipartisan manner to finalize legislation that includes sustained, meaningful funding growth for the National Institutes of Health and other vital healthcare programs, as well as rescind the Medicaid DSH cuts and reauthorize PCORI for 10 years before this new stopgap measure expires."
America's Essential Hospitals President and CEO Bruce Siegel, MD, also praised the decision by Congress, saying in a news release that lawmakers must now "focus on a solution measured in years rather than weeks."
The House Energy and Commerce Committee has approved a plan to repeal the $4 billion in cuts in fiscal 2020 and $8 billion in cuts in fiscal 2021, as well as reduce the cut in fiscal 2022 from $8 billion to $4 billion. A repeal of the cuts requires full House and Senate approval.
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