Once again, the nation’s safety net is staring down a severe cut to Medicaid disproportionate-share hospital funding, as it has almost every year since 2014. This time, hospitals and their vulnerable patients face a $4 billion reduction Oct. 1 that would slash one-third of the program’s funding in one year.
So Congress again must consider an action it has taken four times already since the cuts were scheduled to start: delay them. Previous delays enjoyed strong bipartisan support, and that’s clearly the case again this year—even as some question whether another delay just kicks the can down the road.