Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic damage throughout Florida’s Gulf Coast, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with local officials and volunteers from the barrier islands to discuss the storm’s impact and current recovery efforts. Photos are courtesy of...
Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, causing catastrophic damage along Florida’s Gulf Coast. It’s crucial for the federal government to expedite state-requested resources and authorize key policy flexibilities in order for Floridians to make a swift...
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host two in-person events to assist constituents affected by Hurricane Helene and help navigate applications for FEMA assistance. Food, water, and additional resources will be available at the events. Event...
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of...
Following the impacts of Hurricanes Helene and Debby, some local governments in Florida face looming budget shortfalls that could disrupt disaster recovery efforts. If these local governments receive reimbursements for past hurricanes from the Federal Emergency...
Following Hurricane Helene’s catastrophic path through northwest Florida, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with local officials and volunteers from Citrus County. Senator Rubio also met with small business owners impacted by the storm. Photos are courtesy of...
Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced the State Accountability, Flexibility, and Equity (SAFE) for Hospitals Act, which would overhaul the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program to create equity for all states. The bill would update a metric used to determine how much each state is allotted, which has not been reformed since the early 1990s. It would also resolve a longstanding disparity in Medicaid DSH allocations across the nation, including Florida, and prioritize funding for hospitals that provide the most care to Medicaid and low-income patients. Rubio first introduced the legislation in December 2018. U.S. Representative Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) reintroduced companion legislation in the House.
Over the course of 10-15 years, Florida hospitals could gain up to $600 million in annual DSH funding as a result of Rubio’s bill. A one-pager of the bill is available here.
“For far too long, Florida has not received its fair share of funding for hospitals that serve the most vulnerable patients,” Rubio said. “The current metric used to determine funding is outdated and unfair to hospitals in Florida and across the country. I’m proud to introduce this proposal to reform Medicaid DSH, and it is my hope that this bill will become a framework for future reform.”
“I am proud reintroduce the House companion to the SAFE Hospitals Act because it will ensure that our safety net hospitals in Florida actually receive their fair share of federal healthcare funding,” Bilirakis said. “Our bill updates the current antiquated formula from the early 90s to reflect the true needs of each state. The bottom line is that this bill will enable states like Florida to obtain the funding needed to better serve our most vulnerable citizens.”
“Florida hospitals and health systems currently lose hundreds of millions of dollars in funding per year due to the outdated formula the federal government uses to distribute some of its funding under the Federal Medicaid Disproportionate Share program,” said Mary C. Mayhew, President and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association. “On behalf of the Florida Hospital Association’s more than 200 hospitals and health systems, I want to thank Senator Rubio for his efforts to bring equality to this program so Florida’s hospitals receive their fair share of this critical funding for some of our most vulnerable and uninsured.”
“The Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida commends U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio for sponsoring the SAFE Hospitals Act, legislation that would provide Florida its fair share of federal funding for hospital care provided to Medicaid and uninsured patients. Now is the time to once and for all fix the federal formula for distributing Medicaid Disproportionate Share (DSH) payments to help hospitals cover the cost of uncompensated care. Under Rubio’s bill, the new formula would be based on the national standard poverty rate and use the latest census data, as opposed to the haphazard state-by-state allocation that is still predominantly based on an antiquated formula created over 30 years ago. Sen. Rubio understands the importance of having a fair DSH formula for Florida and numerous other states that have received low DSH allocations for decades. The Safety Net hospitals are optimistic that Florida’s entire Congressional delegation will back the SAFE Hospitals Act to finally fix this problem so Florida gets our fair share. Florida’s Safety Net hospitals have long expressed frustration that another state that chose not to expand Medicaid receives over 475 percent more funding for uninsured patient care than Florida. And that Connecticut receives the same DSH allotment as Florida but has less than one-fifth the population and, in 2019, served only 0.8 percent the U.S. population at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level, compared to Florida’s 5.9 percent. I am hopeful that Congress will pass this legislation. It is a simple matter of fairness and should have bipartisan support,” Safety Net Hospital Alliance of Florida President Lindy Kennedy said.
The SAFE Hospitals Act would: