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| Wilson Fights Rules That Threaten Rural Hospitals In NM |
April 03, 2008 |
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Wilson supports moratorium on damaging Medicaid rules
Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM) today strongly opposed implementation of a Medicaid rule that would negatively impact rural hospitals in New Mexico during a Health Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 5613, “Protecting the Medicaid Safety Net Act of 2008.”
The bill under consideration today contains a provision that would place a moratorium on seven different Medicaid rules until March of 2009. Each of the regulations has been issued in the last year. Some of the rules are currently in place, while others are set to be implemented in May of this year.
Wilson is concerned with one rule in particular – CMS-2258-P – that would prevent states from using certain local taxes to put up their share to match federal dollars. It would also mandate Medicaid to pay only the cost of services, and not supplemental payments to public hospitals.
“Implementation of this rule would result in a loss of $114 million in federal funding annually to rural hospitals in New Mexico, undoubtedly impacting patient care and quality,” Wilson stated during today’s hearing. “By limiting Medicaid reimbursement for public hospitals to only cost, funding for the Level 1 Trauma Center at the University of New Mexico, the only trauma center of this caliber in the state, would decrease by $40 million each year. This regulation would have a calamitous impact on the health care facilities available to rural residents.”
This rule unfairly burdens the state of New Mexico because of the Sole Community Provider program in place in rural areas since 1993 and previously approved by the Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services (CMS). This program helps rural communities that only have one hospital to receive funding for care of local patients.
The Sole Community Provider program uses local property taxes and gross receipts taxes to put up the county’s share of funds that are sent to the state and used for matching funds. However, CMS has said that under the new rule, county indigent funds would not be allowable for use to put up to match the federal money, essentially terminating New Mexico’s Sole Community Provider program.
Wilson has fought the implementation of this rule in the past. Last year, Wilson sent letters to Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt and Office of Management and Budget Director Rob Portman, stating her strong opposition to this proposed Medicaid rule. She is a cosponsor of H.R. 3533, the Public and Teaching Hospital Preservation Act that places a one-year moratorium on the hospital rule. Today, she announced her support for H.R. 5613, the legislation being considered today, that includes language from the bill she has co-sponsored.
Hospitals in New Mexico that are considered Sole Community Providers include:
- San Juan Regional Hospital in Farmington
- St. Vincent Regional Medical Center in Santa Fe
- Lincoln County Medical Center in Ruidoso
- Eastern New Mexico Medical Center in Roswell
- Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital in Gallup
- Cibola Hospital in Grants
- Miner’s Colfax Medical Center in Raton
- Clovis Plains Regional Medical Center in Clovis
- Memorial Medical Center in Las Cruces
- Mountain View Regional Hospital in Las Cruces
- Artesia Hospital
- Carlsbad Medical Center
- Gila Regional Hospital in Silver City
- Guadalupe County Hospital in Santa Rosa
- Lea Regional Medical Center in Hobbs
- Mimbres Hospital in Deming
- Gerald Champion Regional Medical Center in Alamogordo
- Dr. Dan Trigg Memorial Hospital in Tucumcari
- Roosevelt General Hospital in Portales
- Alta Vista Regional Hospital in Las Vegas
- Sierra Vista Hospital in Truth or Consequences
- Socorro General Hospital
- Holy Cross Hospital in Taos
- Union County Hospital in Clayton
- Espanola Hospital
- Los Alamos Medical Center
These hospitals serve thousands of people throughout New Mexico living in rural areas with limited access to health care facilities.
Wilson is a member of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health, with jurisdiction over Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP, the FDA, and public health issues.
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