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Cohen Leads Effort to Secure Half Billion Dollars for Tennessee Hospitals

March 26, 2015

Newly-agreed compromise guarantees disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments for Tennessee through 2025

[WASHINGTON, DC] – The House of Representatives today passed the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act, which includes a compromise negotiated by Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) and members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation that will guarantee disproportionate share hospital (DSH) allotments totaling more than $530 million over the next 10 years to help the state’s hospitals and community health centers recoup expenses incurred caring for those who cannot afford to pay. Tennessee is the only state in the nation that does not receive these DSH allotments automatically.

“Tennessee hospitals deserve the same level of certainty about their DSH payments that hospitals throughout America have, and I am pleased that this compromise will provide that certainty,” said Congressman Cohen. “I will continue fighting for our hospitals and am happy that the Tennessee Congressional Delegation was able to come together in a bipartisan fashion to deliver more than half a billion federal dollars to our state. These funds will help keep hospitals open around the state and help provide Memphians and all Tennesseans access to the medical care they need.

“I’ve never seen the Tennessee Congressional delegation work more closely or successfully together on an issue that is of importance to the entire state. Securing DSH payments for Tennessee has been a battle for the Tennessee Congressional delegation for more than a decade. I’m proud to have been able to continue the fine work of former Congressman Bart Gordon who spearheaded this effort during his tenure in Congress.”

In recent years, Tennessee’s hospitals have been able to receive annual DSH payments through a temporary provision that has since expired, though these allotments were significantly smaller than those received by other states under the standard DSH funding formula. As a result of Congressman Cohen’s work and his collaboration with the other members of the Tennessee Congressional Delegation, Tennessee’s hospitals will receive $53.1 million in DSH payments annually and are guaranteed the funding stream for the next decade. Regional One Health (The MED) in Memphis will benefit significantly from the newfound certainty of this new DSH payment schedule and Shelby County residents can rest easy knowing that the future of emergency, life-saving services provided there will no longer be in jeopardy due to erratic funding shortfalls.