The American Hospital Association and nine other hospital groups have sent a letter asking Congress to oppose any additional Medicare and Medicaid payment cuts to hospitals to resolve the sustainable growth rate.
"The hospital community places great value in our relationship with physicians and in the need for a proper, permanent fix to the SGR…However, it is unsustainable and unacceptable for hospitals to take on any further financial burden in order for this to be accomplished," the groups stated in the letter.
In making their case to Congress, the groups said the annual "patching" of the SGR has led to hospitals receiving reductions totaling nearly $122 million since 2010. The groups also noted hospitals are expected to have the lowest Medicare margin in history in fiscal 2015.
The nine groups signing the letter along with the AHA were: America's Essential Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges, Catholic Health Association of the United States, Children's Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, National Association of Psychiatric Health Systems, Premier healthcare alliance, and VHA.
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