NASH supports current, bipartisan efforts in Congress to delay Medicaid disproportionate share (Medicaid DSH) cuts required by the Affordable Care Act.

The National Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has long called for the delay or elimination of these Medicaid DSH cuts and reiterated this view in preparation for NASH Advocacy Day, which was held last week in Washington, D.C.  In NASH’s view, Medicaid DSH is a vital tool for helping private safety-net hospitals serve residents of the low-income communities in which those hospitals are located.

NASH reinforced this position in a new position statement that notes that

While many Americans have taken advantage of the Affordable Care Act to obtain health insurance, millions remain uninsured…and the past two years have seen the number of uninsured Americans rise, not fall…Consequently, any decline now in Medicaid DSH payments could lead to an increase in the provision of charity care, possibly forcing hospitals to reduce services limit community outreach, and even reduce staff.  Such measures could jeopardize access to care, not only for hospitals’ uninsured and low-income patients but also for their privately insured, Medicare, and Medicaid patients as well.

See the complete statement on delaying Medicaid DSH cuts here, on the NASH web site.