Bilirakis and Rubio Reintroduce Bill to Help Hospitals Providing Care to Low Income Patients

Washington, D.C. — Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced the State Accountability, Flexibility, and Equity (SAFE) Hospitals Act, which would overhaul the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program to create equity for all states. The bill would update a metric used to determine how much each state is allotted.  It would also resolve a longstanding disparity in Medicaid DSH allocations across the nation, including Florida, and prioritize funding for hospitals that provide the most care to Medicaid and low-income patients. Over the course of 10-15 years, Florida hospitals could gain up to $600 million in annual DSH funding as a result of the measure championed by Bilirakis and Rubio.

 “I am proud to reintroduce the SAFE Hospitals Act because it will ensure that our safety net hospitals in Florida actually receive their fair share of federal healthcare funding,” Bilirakis said. “Our bill updates the current antiquated formula from the early 90s to reflect the true needs of each state.  The bottom line is that this bill will enable states like Florida to obtain the funding needed to better serve our most vulnerable citizens.”

  
 “For far too long, Florida has not received its fair share of funding for hospitals that serve the most vulnerable patients,” said Senator Marco Rubio.  “The current metric used to determine funding is outdated and unfair to hospitals in Florida and across the country. I’m proud to reintroduce this proposal to reform Medicaid DSH, and it is my hope that this bill will become a framework for future reform.”

The SAFE Hospitals Act would: 

• Gradually change the DSH allocation formula so states’ allocations are based on the number of low-income earners living in the state, as a percentage of the total U.S. population earning less than 100 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
• Prioritize DSH funding to hospitals providing the most care to vulnerable patients, while providing states with the necessary flexibility to address the unique needs of hospitals in each state.
• Expand the definition of uncompensated care to include costs incurred by hospitals to provide certain outpatient physician and clinical services, which is a change recommended by MACPAC.
• Allow states to reserve some of their DSH funding allocations to be used in future years in order to give hospitals more certainty or consistency in the amount of DSH funding they can expect when planning for the future.