Although the scheduled Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) cuts for fiscal year (FY) 2024 were repealed, the Texas Hospital Association is advocating for Congress to protect patient care by delaying or permanently repealing three years of cuts that are still scheduled to go into effect starting in fiscal year 2025. THA has calculated the number of DSH hospitals and previously scheduled reduction amounts for each of the 38 U.S. House districts for FY 2025. See THA’s district-specific explainers listed below for details.
In March 2024, following ongoing advocacy from THA, Texas hospitals and the American Hospital Association, Congress repealed the pending Medicaid DSH cuts for federal fiscal year 2024 – which would have cost Texas safety-net hospitals an estimated $800 million – and also delayed the implementation of the following federal fiscal year cuts until Jan. 1, 2025. THA is continuing to push for the repeal of the cuts slated for FYs 2025-2027, which would cost hospitals more than $2 billion. These funding cuts are unsustainable, especially considering Texas leads the nation with 18% of its population – more than 5 million Texans – lacking health insurance. DSH payments compensate hospitals that treat a disproportionate number of uninsured and Medicaid patients.
The Supporting Safety Net Hospitals Act (H.R. 2665), introduced in Congress in April 2023, would repeal the payment cuts for fiscal years 2024 ($8 billion) and 2025 ($8 billion), helping Disproportionate Share hospitals across Texas and the nation continue to receive billions in needed payments. THA and the American Hospital Association both support this bill, on which Texas Reps. Dan Crenshaw and Michael Burgess, MD, are original cosponsors. All members of the Texas congressional delegation are being asked to sign onto H.R. 2665.