Amendment to Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Bill

Statement

Amendment to Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education bill
by Congressman Weller

I'd like to thank my colleagues for standing up for their constituents and voting for the amendment to the Labor-H appropriations bill I introduced with Mr. Lewis of Georgia and Mr. Welch. The amendment prevents the CMS from administering a $24 billion cut in Medicare reimbursements to hospitals across the nation.

In my district, the CMS proposal would have resulted in a $60 million hit for local hospitals. That's money hospitals need to maintain the quality of care people in my district have come to rely upon. Denying these funds would have seriously hamstrung the ability of our hospitals in Illinois to provide quality care for patients.

The CMS is seeking the cut to make up for funds it believes will be overpaid to hospitals in the future. But hospitals should be penalized based on actual evidence, not the best guess of the administration.

Thanks also to the nearly 270 Members who signed on to a letter to CMS Acting Administrator Leslie Norwalk opposing the funding cuts, and the 411 others who voted to pass this amendment.

We've delivered again the message that Medicare reimbursements to hospitals must not be reduced.

Read more about the amendment here, from Kaiser Family Foundation.

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