News From Congressman Eliot Engel

Engel Slams GOP Continuing Efforts to Repeal Health Care

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a founding member of the Medicare For All Caucus and top member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, issued the following statement as the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals hears oral arguments in Texas v. U.S. lawsuit, which is the latest Republican effort to strike down protections for people with pre-existing conditions and the health benefits provided by the Affordable Care Act:

“No matter how many times the American people shut down President Trump’s attempts to repeal their health care coverage, he just keeps coming back. You almost wish the President were this persistent when it came to other things, like defending our electoral system from foreign interference.

“Today, the Fifth Circuit will hear oral arguments in Texas v. U.S. which is the latest Republican attack on the Affordable Care Act. It’s been apparent for some time that Republicans simply do not care who they hurt, just as long as President Obama’s signature accomplishment is destroyed. Shameful doesn’t begin to describe this assault on the American people, which if successful, will eviscerate protections for 130 million people with pre-existing conditions and result in 20 million Americans losing their health coverage. In New York alone, 607,000 people stand to lose their health insurance by repealing the ACA, while over 8 million New Yorkers living with pre-existing conditions will be put at risk. How anyone could support this despicable maneuver is beyond me, but here we are.

“It should be this simple: Congress, and the President, should be working to provide high-quality, affordable health care coverage. The ACA brought health care to millions of Americans who couldn’t afford it before. It also outlawed discriminatory practices used by insurance companies. Instead of repealing these protections, we should be building on the ACA’s progress and continuing our march toward Medicare For All.

“Since taking control of the House in January, the Democratic Majority has worked to strengthen protections for people with pre-existing conditions. We’ve also passed bills to lower the cost of prescription drugs and held the first hearings on Medicare For All. This is the progressive vision of health care I have long championed and will continue to fight for as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee.

“I remain hopeful that this is the President’s last attempt to steal health care away from millions of hardworking Americans.”

Engel Leads Effort to Prevent Funding Cuts to Safety-Net Hospital

  Congressman Eliot L. Engel, a top member on the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee, today co-led a bipartisan effort to preserve Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) payments for safety-net hospitals by eliminating painful cuts scheduled to go into effect on October 1, 2019.

Medicaid DSH payments help sustain hospitals that serve a disproportionate number of low-income and uninsured patients. In doing so, these hospitals incur tremendous uncompensated costs. Medicaid DSH payments help make up for these losses and, in turn, allow these safety-net providers to keep their doors open and continue caring for the most vulnerable among us. Without Congressional action, New York’s 200 safety-net hospitals and the patients they serve stand to lose a collective $1.8 billion annually.

But today, the E&C Health Subcommittee took a big step in support of safety-net hospitals by passing an amendment that eliminates $4 billion in scheduled DSH cuts for fiscal year (FY) 2020 and $8 billion for FY2021. This bipartisan amendment builds on Congressman Engel’s effort from this past May, when he led a letter with Congressman Pete Olson (TX-22) to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy urging a swift resolution to this issue. 300 Members of the House signed the letter.

“Safety-net hospitals such as Montefiore Health Systems and Saint Joseph’s Medical Center are the cornerstone of New York’s health care system,” Engel said. “We must preserve the Medicaid DSH payments, which are the lifeline for these facilities. Today’s markup was an important first-step, and I was proud to help lead in the elimination of these draconian cuts. But we must continue the pressure until it is signed into law.”      

“We applaud Rep. Engel’s long standing leadership to protect our hospitals and the vulnerable patients they serve,” said HANYS President Bea Grause, RN, JD. “Today’s vote at the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health brings us one step closer to addressing steep reductions to critical Medicaid DSH resources that help preserve access to care for all New Yorkers.  We thank Congressman Engel for his efforts today and look forward to working closely with him as he ushers this legislation through Congress.”

“This hugely important bill protects struggling safety net hospitals from deep, unsustainable funding cuts that would severely compromise patient care,” said Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth E. Raske. “The hospital community is deeply grateful to Rep. Engel for his strong leadership on this crucial issue.”

"America’s Essential Hospitals appreciates the amendment from Reps. Kennedy, Hudson, Engel, and Long to mitigate the looming Medicaid DSH cuts. We applaud Rep. Engel’s steadfast leadership in protecting Medicaid DSH funding to ensure essential hospitals have the resources they need to carry out their mission to serve the nation’s most vulnerable,” said Bruce Siegel, MD, MPH, President and CEO, America’s Essential Hospitals.

“The members of the American Nurses Association - New York (ANA-NY) thank Rep. Engel for his work in today’s vote at the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health to deal with the proposed Medicaid DSH reductions,” says Jeanine Santelli, PhD, RN, AGPCNP-BC, FAAN, and Executive Director of ANA-NY.  “ANA-NY’s members know that our patients need and deserve access to high quality health care, and the cuts that had been proposed would have a significant impact on the ability of the system to support the care our patients receive.  We applaud Rep. Engel for his efforts and look forward to this proposal getting finalized.”

"We greatly appreciate Congressman Engel's initiative in preserving critical funding for safety net hospitals.  The care these hospitals provide is absolutely essential to the health of millions of New Yorkers and is a critical healthcare underpinning for under-served communities.  To sustain this funding is to sustain lives—just ask the nurses,” said Carl Ginsburg, spokesperson, New York State Nurses Association.

“DSH funding is very important to the hospital where I work because of our location in an area that is impoverished,” says 1199SEIU member Paulette Forbes. “If the pending funding cuts go through, we may not be able to survive as a hospital.  We are grateful to Congressman Eliot Engel for advancing this proposal to repeal the cuts.”