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ACTION NEEDED
Call or email your U.S. representative on key House subcommittees to share stories about the financial challenges you are facing, ask for their support to help hospitals, and ask them to oppose detrimental legislation.
Please call your member of Congress as soon as possible to request that they do no harm and support a delay to the scheduled Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) cuts. Find your U.S. representative’s contact information in this online directory and consult this list of California representatives on key House subcommittees that are holding hearings on issues that would impact hospitals.
TIMING
ASAP — four hearings are scheduled for April 26. Members of Congress must hear from you no later than Tuesday, April 25.
RESOURCES
- Report: Hospital Services at Risk Throughout CA
- American Hospital Association alert
- California DSH Task Force letter
BACKGROUND
Hospitals throughout California are facing severe financial challenges that threaten patient care and put their communities at risk. Costs have skyrocketed and hospitals have been forced to close or reduce services just to keep their doors open. Federal elected officials need to hear directly from hospitals about the specific financial challenges they are facing and how they impact access to care and the needs of the communities in their districts.
On Wednesday, April 26, four House subcommittees will hold hearings on issues and legislation affecting hospitals. The American Hospital Association has issued an alert that does an excellent job outlining the immediate legislative challenges and contains links to the bills and issues that will be considered, as well as fact sheets on those topics.
While many of the issues that will be discussed in the hearings could be detrimental to hospitals — site-neutral payment, physician-owned hospitals, reductions in outpatient payments, limits to 340B, and challenges to not-for-profit status — there is also one bill that CHA supports: H.R. 2665, which would delay the scheduled Medicaid DSH cuts. H.R. 2665 will be heard in the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.
CHA’s recently released report outlining the financial challenges facing California’s hospitals is an important reminder to elected officials that hospitals cannot withstand the additional cuts being considered in these subcommittees.