REP. ENGEL CALLS FOR IMPROVING NEW YORK’S SHARE OF HEALTH REFORM

In anticipation of the Christmas Eve Senate vote on health care reform, Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) urged House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to protect New Yorkers from a disproportionate burden in health care reform, based upon the Senate Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA).  Along with Rep. Joe Crowley and Rep. Brian Higgins, and a vast majority of the New York Delegation, Congressman Engel sent a letter to Pelosi and Reid suggesting several provisions from the House Affordable Health Care for America Act (AHCAA) be included in the conference agreement.

“America is on the brink of achieving significant health care reform which can and should be beneficial to all parts of our country.  Both the House and Senate fought very hard to craft legislation over the past year that amounts to sweeping reforms of our health delivery system, and a giant leap forward towards providing affordable health care for all Americans.  Both versions provide strong protections to consumers, especially by vastly expanding coverage to the uninsured and protecting those with pre-existing conditions from denials,” said Rep. Engel, a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Health.

“However, even with great steps forward there are still some potential steps backward.  The Senate bill is worrisome to New York as it places a disproportionate burden on New Yorkers and would weaken the health care delivery system New Yorkers rely on.  This would defeat the purpose of reform to far too many people in our state,” added Rep. Engel.

The 11-term Congressman suggested the following measures, currently included in the House version, be included in the final bill which emerges from the joint House-Senate conference committee:

Equitable Federal Matching Assistance Percentage Funding (FMAP) – Rep. Engel and the other New York members fought to include over $11 billion in Medicaid funds for New York in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; however PPACA hurts New York, Massachusetts and Vermont, which have long been state leaders in expanding coverage to low-income families in the Medicaid programs.  Under the Senate bill, New York would only be eligible for enhanced federal funding for the small number of single adults with incomes between 100-133 percent of the FPL, because New York has already done a great job in covering many single adults.  The House bill provides a more equitable solution to sharing the costs of Medicaid expansion by providing increased federal funding for Medicaid expansion regardless of existing state eligibility levels.

Mitigate cuts to Disproportionate Share Hospital Funding (DSH) – The PPACA has severe cuts to DSH funds, which pays for uncompensated care and makes up the cost of underpayments in Medicaid.  Despite expanding coverage to millions more Americans, there will still be uninsured Americans after these reforms, and hospitals will be forced to absorb those costs and provide those services.  The PPACA reduces DSH payments by $43 billion staring in 2015, more than double the amount in the House bill. Until there is more certainty in coverage, it would be irresponsible to undermine New York's safety net health care system.

Better affordability of health care – With the individual mandate in place, the need to make health coverage affordable is paramount.  The New York State Insurance Department believes the House bill gives states stronger authority to negotiate savings for consumers entering the state health insurance exchange.  Furthermore, for those with income levels between 133-250 percent of the poverty level, the House bill does a much better job in providing better health insurance premium support.

Fair Federal Funding for Everyone – New York State just recently enacted $2.7 billion in mid-year funding cuts and other savings, including reductions against priority health care programs, and will need to cut further to fully close a projected deficit of over $40 billion over the next four years.  New York State economic modeling projects that the Senate health reform bill, PPACA, could amount to significant increases in state Medicaid costs to New York, with serious implications to state and local budgets.  This could result not only in a reduction in quality of care, but also substantial job losses at a time when New York cannot afford to lose more jobs.

Rep. Engel added, “It is critical that New Yorkers not be punished for providing superior health care, while other states have failed to prioritize providing adequate coverage to their people.  While I understand the difficulties associated with crafting a reform bill acceptable to all parts of the country, I stand by my belief that getting there should not come at the expense of New York.”

"The House health insurance reform bill creates the quality, affordable health care the residents of Western New York deserve and provides critical support for states and local health care facilities to care out reform," said Congressman Brian Higgins (NY-27).  "Together we are requesting the provisions we included to preserve fiscal stability across levels of government are included in the final health care package Congress will consider in the coming weeks." 

"New York sets the bar when it comes to health care - training one in six doctors and housing some of the world's leading research and treatment health facilities.  Our stature, however, could diminish if the health care bill passed by the Senate is enacted as currently written.  Already facing a projected $40 billion budget shortfall over the next four years, the Senate bill would make too many cuts to New York.  New York State deserves its fair share in whatever health reform bill is sent to the President for his signature.  I will spend the next weeks working with my colleagues in the House and Senate to make sure we ultimately fairly and equitably distribute Federal support for New York's hospitals and providers as well as mitigate cuts to vital payments for safety-net hospitals.  It is critically important we craft a health care bill that both preserves quality health care in New York and helps pave the way for expanded and more affordable health care coverage for all Americans," said Congressman Joe Crowley (NY-7).

“We applaud the New York Congressional delegation for recognizing the urgent need to significantly reduce cuts to special payments ‘safety net’ hospitals receive for disproportionately treating the uninsured,” said Greater New York Hospital Association president Kenneth E. Raske. “Even after health reform is achieved these critically important hospitals will still care for large numbers of uninsured New Yorkers, so we must ensure that they have the necessary resources to do so.”

 

Daniel Sisto, President of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), said, "Safety Net Hospitals in our inner cities will be damaged by the loss of disproportionate share funds. Additionally, hospitals in upstate areas are excluded from the wage adjustments provided to some western states.  As no good deed will go unpunished, our State Government will propose more Medicaid cuts on health institutions because the Senate bill penalizes New York for already insuring more poor people than other states, which are now rewarded for their recalcitrance."

 

"I commend Congressman Engel and his colleagues in the New York State House delegation for forcefully speaking out against those provisions of the Senate health care reform bill that are harmful to the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), New York City and New York State. HHC, which operates the largest municipal hospital system in the nation, is especially vulnerable to the proposed Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) funding reductions included in the bill. Enactment of this provision could result in an annual loss of nearly one-half billion dollars in vital financial support to New York City's public hospitals, community clinics and nursing homes," said Alan D. Aviles, President of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC).