Congressman Cohen Defends The MED on the House Floor
Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) answered a Republican attack launched on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives about language in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) bill to permit reimbursement to The MED from other states for medical care provided to their citizens. Rep. Michael Rogers (R-Michigan) singled out the CHIP provision for The MED as a Democratic “earmark” which the Republicans had no knowledge of, despite the same provision having been enacted by previous Republican-led Congresses. Congressman Cohen pointed out that the provision does not appropriate any new funding but merely permits Arkansas and Mississippi to reimburse The MED for providing medical care to the citizens of those states. Congressman Cohen also noted that in the last fiscal year alone, The MED is out almost $20 million for services rendered to residents of Mississippi and Arkansas for which they cannot obtain reimbursement.
On the House floor Congressman Cohen stated, “I appreciate my Republican colleagues from the state of Tennessee who helped get this in the (CHIP) bill because they see the need to help folks from Mississippi and Arkansas to get health care that is provided at The Med and is not reimbursed to The Med. . . Patients don’t stop at state lines and neither should funding.”
Following his floor statement, Congressman Cohen continued, “The MED is too important to the citizens of District 9 and, in fact, the entire region, to permit political gamesmanship to threaten this fine medical institution’s ability to provide care.”
In 2003, recognizing the precarious situation faced by The MED and the thousands of patients it serves, Congress included a provision in the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 (MMA) to allow a publicly-owned regional medical center, such as The MED, to provide public funds to finance Medicaid payments made by other states if the Secretary of Health and Human Services determined that such was a proper use of funds and served the interests of the Medicaid program. This provision expressly recognized the Secretary’s authority to approve financing mechanisms in Arkansas and Mississippi designed to infuse The MED with critical funds to enable it to continue serving their residents. In response, Mississippi amended its DSH program, and Arkansas amended its public hospital payment program, in order to permit The MED to participate and receive additional funds. After assuring itself that the plans were proper and in the interest of the Medicaid program, CMS approved the amendments pursuant to the MMA authority. The MMA provision contained a sunset date of December 31, 2005. Congress enacted a one-year extension in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. That provision expired on December 31, 2006. Thus, payments from Mississippi and Arkansas to The MED are no longer expressly authorized.
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Contact:
Marilyn Dillihay, Press Secretary, (202) 225-3265 / (202) 368-9275 (mobile)