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Partnership for Medicaid Welcomes Extension of Health Care Safety Net Programs
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 9 2018
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Gina Drioane, 202-753-5372
Partnership for Medicaid Welcomes Extension of Health Care Safety Net Programs
(WASHINGTON, DC) – The Partnership for Medicaid — a nonpartisan, nationwide coalition of health care providers, safety net health plans, counties and labor — welcomes the long-awaited extension of a number of programs vital to the health and well-being of our nation.
The Partnership is relieved that the February continuing resolution (CR) ended the four-month funding lapse for a number of key programs that support the safety net, including Community Health Centers, the National Health Service Corps, and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program. The CR also delays cuts to Medicaid disproportionate share hospital (DSH) payments so that safety net hospitals can continue to deliver high-quality care. Funding these programs and averting DSH cuts ensures access to care and additional services for Medicaid beneficiaries and other vulnerable populations. In addition, the CR provides a permanent authorization of Dual Eligible Special Needs Plans to provide care management and integrate Medicare and Medicaid processes and services for dual eligible beneficiaries. The health care funding and authorization extensions in the CR invest in vulnerable individuals and families across the nation.
We appreciate the additional four years of funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides greater stability for this critical program over the next decade. The Partnership has long supported improved quality measurement and reporting in Medicaid and CHIP, and we are encouraged that the CR requires mandatory pediatric quality reporting by states under these programs. We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to protect and improve Medicaid for the 70 million Americans who rely on the program, and to maintain these other essential programs that stand on the shoulders of Medicaid to support the health and well-being of beneficiaries.
*This statement has not been individually endorsed by every Partnership member organization.
About the Partnership for Medicaid
The Partnership for Medicaid is a nonpartisan, nationwide coalition made up of organizations representing doctors, health care providers, safety net health plans, counties and labor. The goal of the coalition is to preserve and improve the Medicaid program. Learn more about the Partnership for Medicaid at www.thepartnershipformedicaid.org.