The Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals has sent to members of Congress the following statement about the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s proposed changes in federal Medicaid policy for inclusion in upcoming budget reconciliation legislation.

The Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals strongly opposes aspects of the Energy and Commerce Committee’s proposed changes in the Medicaid program. These changes would greatly reduce access to care for millions of low-income Americans and hamstring the ability of the states to adequately finance care for those eligible for Medicaid-covered services. The committee’s proposals also would jeopardize the viability of the very community safety-net hospitals that play the greatest role in caring for so many low-income Americans.

If the cuts included in this bill become law, these provisions would force community safety-net hospitals to reduce or eliminate services that benefit not only Medicaid patients but their privately insured neighbors as well, would necessitate layoffs from well-paying jobs, and would lead inevitably to hospital closures.

The Alliance of Safety-Net Hospitals urges Congress to reconsider the implications of these proposals before including them in reconciliation legislation.

Find ASH’s statement here.