Hospitals worry about maintaining services if Congress cuts money for patients without insurance
Download mp3 (11.01 MB)More than 250 hospitals — including a pair in Arizona — have signed onto a letter to Congressional leaders.
They’re asking Congress to stop potential cuts to what’s called the disproportionate share hospital, or DSH funding. The money is used to help hospitals make up for uncompensated care when they treat patients without insurance, or for the reimbursement rate given for treating patients on Medicaid.
The cuts, totaling around $8 billion nationwide, are scheduled to take effect on Oct. 1, but they’ve been waived several times since they were signed into law as part of the Affordable Care Act. In their letter, the hospitals write, “The need for DSH funding is even greater now, as hospital expenses per patient have increased significantly since the pandemic.”
Yuma Regional Medical Center was one of the signers of the letter. Dr. Robert Trenschel is the hospital's president and CEO, and joined The Show to talk about it.
