Washington, DC – Today, seven South Florida Congressional Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services opposing the administration’s proposal to drastically cut Medicare payments to hospitals.

The FY20 agency budget proposes reducing the reimbursement of bad debt payments to 25 percent. Reducing this reimbursement rate could result in the loss of health services and programs that are essential for Medicare beneficiaries and threatens the stability of the providers caring for the most vulnerable members of our communities.

The letter states in part, “Slashing the reimbursement rate in this way will put hospitals in an untenable position. It asks them to provide care yet denies them reasonable compensation. Unfortunately, many seniors in South Florida continue to financially struggle while the hospitals serving this low-income population already operate on very narrow margins. Cutting these payments will threaten the stability of the providers caring for the most vulnerable members of our communities and potentially reduce care options for struggling Medicare beneficiaries.”

To read the full letter, click here.

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