Hospital Industry Urges Delay in Implementation of DSH Reporting Rule - June 22, 2010

On June 21, NAPH, along with members from several other organizations, submitted a letter to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius urging a delay in the implementation of the Final Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) Audit and Reporting Rule. The letter stresses that the hospital community supports DSH reporting and auditing requirements, but notes that the rule goes beyond this, by excluding certain uncompensated costs from DSH calculations. As a result, DSH payments will be reduced at a time when safety net hospitals most need the funds to provide access to care for the poor and uninsured. The letter requests that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) extend the enforcement of the transition period for the rule, giving CMS time to review state audits and consider the impact of these policy changes. Earlier this year, more than 50 members of Congress sent Secretary Sebelius a letter to the same effect. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Rep. Charlie Melancon (D-LA) have sponsored legislation which would require HHS to reissue the DSH reporting rule without making substantive changes to DSH policy.