Hospitals pressed HHS this week to address a range of Medicaid-related uncertainties created by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on the federal healthcare overhaul.
The Aug. 20 letter from the American Hospital Association to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius primarily sought details on a range of payment issues for hospitals, including the fate of cuts in disproportionate-share hospital payments (PDF) also included in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
The letter was in response to the court's June 28 decision that struck down penalties in the law for states that did not expand their Medicaid programs' eligibility to all residents with incomes of up to 133% of the federal poverty level, including leeway up to 138% of the federal poverty level. But the court's decision threw into question a host of Medicaid-related provisions.