Briefs

Brooklyn’s Rep. Clarke leads strong bipartisan call to advance bill protecting safety-net hospitals

November 26, 2024 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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CAPITOL HILL — CONGRESS NEEDS TO PROTECT SAFETY-NET HOSPITALS, Congressmember Yvette D. Clarke (D-9) urged in a bipartisan letter she led, addressing House Speaker Mike Johnson and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-8), her colleague from the Brooklyn delegation. Rep. Clarke calls for her bill, the Save our Safety-Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 9351), to be included in a year end spending package, in order to protect safety-net hospitals from anticipated Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts.

“As Congress works to address outstanding issues before the end of the calendar year, we write to respectfully request that you include our bipartisan legislation, the Save our Safety-Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 9351), in a year end package. This legislation seeks to address unintended consequences of policy impacting how much Medicaid disproportionate share hospital funding our safety-net hospitals can receive,” wrote the coalition.

Clarke and her colleagues explained that H.R. 9351 which would amend Sec. 203 by preserving a hospital’s ability to include Medicaid-Medicare dual-eligible in their DSH caps and prevent substantial cuts in much needed resources. Other New York Congressmembers signing the letter were Republicans Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota, who is named as the main sponsor on the bill, which he introduced in August, according to the Congressional legislation web page. Cosponsors include several Republican congressmembers from New York.

The bill has been in the House Committee for Energy & Commerce since August.

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