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| Wilson urges vital Medicaid DSH funding |
September 17, 2003 |
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| Washington, DC – Congresswoman Heather Wilson is urging that millions in important funding for Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital payment relief take priority in the Medicare Prescription Drug legislation currently being considered in conference.
In a letter to Congressman William Thomas and Congressman Billy Tauzin, respectively chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, on which Wilson serves, Wilson urged that the conference agreement include the Senate-passed provision that would boost the allotment for “extremely low-DSH states” to 3 percent of Medicaid spending and keep an important House provision that curtails severe cuts to states’ Medicaid DSH allotments.
The Disproportionate Share Hospital program provides funding to hospitals that provide health care to large numbers of uninsured patients. University of New Mexico hospital and 28 other hospitals in New Mexico receive the payments.
“Millions of dollars are at stake for our hospitals,” said Wilson, who chairs a Medicaid Task Force in the House. “Funding of the Medicaid DSH program is especially important to New Mexico. While either provision in the House legislation represents a needed increase for New Mexico, under the higher provision that I support, 28 New Mexico hospitals would receive $122 million.”
Currently, New Mexico is near the bottom in Medicaid DSH payments despite the large number of uninsured in New Mexico. New Mexico receives only 1 percent of its state Medicaid funding in DSH payments.
Under the House-passed provision, New Mexico would see an increase in DSH payments of $41 million, of which $18.7 million would be in Congressional District 1. But under the broader provision supported by Wilson and included in the Senate bill, New Mexico’s gain would be nearly $122.5 million, a difference of more than $80 million. The Wilson-backed provision includes nearly $35 million in District 1 for seven hospitals.
Correcting inequities in the federal health funding formula was a high priority for Wilson and several colleagues in the House from rural states. Wilson was successful in getting the House to include provisions that would start to reduce the disparity in reimbursement rates for Doctor`s time in rural states and to increase reimbursement in underserved areas. The House package also included several provisions important to rural hospitals.
"We worked on a number of measures in the House important to health care in rural and underserved states like New Mexico. We knew that we would have an opportunity to strengthen the bill further in conference with the Senate. Now we are trying to get the conference to accept the best of both proposals," Wilson said.
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