Senate Republicans together with Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) say a brand new proposal to create a $15 billion aid fund for rural hospitals is just not sufficient to make up for tens of billions of {dollars} in federal Medicaid funding cuts included within the Senate megabill invoice to enact President Trump’s agenda.
Collins instructed reporters Wednesday that the $15 billion aid fund floated by the Senate Finance Committee is probably going not the ultimate supply from Senate Republicans leaders to handle the issues of a number of senators who fear the invoice’s cap on well being care supplier taxes might put scores of rural hospitals out of enterprise across the nation.
“The Finance Committee has not made a final decision. It is accurate that I believe we need $100 billion provider-relief fund. I don’t think that solves the entire problem. The Senate cuts in Medicaid are far deeper than the House cuts, and I think that’s problematic as well,” she mentioned.
“Obviously any money is helpful but no it is not adequate. But I do not know for certain that that is where the Finance Committee has landed,” she mentioned.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) can also be skeptical that $15 billion can be sufficient to offset the Senate invoice’s influence on small rural hospitals, based on a Senate GOP supply accustomed to the interior debate.
A Republican senator accustomed to the Finance Committee’s proposal confirmed the panel has provided a $15 billion aid fund for rural hospitals.
The senator mentioned that roughly half of the fund can be accessible to rural hospitals across the nation and the opposite half can be focused to particular hospitals chosen by the Facilities for Medicare & Medicaid Companies.
“That doesn’t mean they won’t adjust it,” the senator mentioned. “There will be a fund. Right now it’s at $15 billion.”
“Last I checked it’s a formula there’s a base amount that all states would get for their rural hospitals, like half of it. And the other half of it goes out based on other factors in the states. The whole point is to mitigate the impact on states that would have higher impacts because of health care provider taxes,” the supply mentioned.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), who has mentioned the Senate invoice would have a devastating influence on rural hospitals in his state, mentioned that organising a well being care supplier aid fund is a step in the correct course.
However he indicated that he would favor placing $100 billion into such a fund, as Collins has advised, as a substitute of the a lot smaller quantity proposed by the Finance panel.
“That’d be a good number,” he mentioned of the $100 billion proposal. “I want to understand — unfortunately we did not talk about at lunch today — how the fund would work. I think the fund is important. Getting a fund is good. That’s a step forward. How does the fund actually distribute the money?”
Senate Majority Chief Thune (R-S.D.), a member of the Finance panel, on Wednesday poured water on the concept of a $100 billion aid fund.
“It won’t be that big,” he instructed reporters.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) mentioned $15 billion in focused funding for rural hospitals is an enchancment to the invoice.
“Anything for rural health is going to help but there’s no way I can measure how much it’s going to help,” he mentioned. “It’s a step in the right direction helping out what we’re trying to do to reform Medicaid.”
Al Weaver contributed.
