Congress wrapped up its votes yesterday with a deal on the fiscal cliff and a non-vote on Superstorm Sandy relief. I don’t even know where to begin…
I guess the fiscal cliff: Like any compromise, the deal includes some good news and some bad news for New Jersey healthcare providers and the people they serve. My number one concern: $15 billion in added cuts to hospitals over the next 10 years. The money was used to avert a scheduled Medicare payment cut to doctors. NJHA has long supported a fix to the physician pay cut, however we are extremely disappointed that it was accomplished with even deeper cuts to hospitals. We in the healthcare community share a common goal of caring for our seniors – so cuts that pit one healthcare provider against another fail to accomplish the overall mission of providing quality and accessible care to our communities. Hospitals in New Jersey and across the nation have already been targeted for billions in Medicare cuts under the Affordable Care Act. Now, these additional cuts place yet another burden on hospitals as they fight to provide high-quality care to our patients. NJHA will continue to work with our congressional delegation to find a more permanent solution to the physician payment formula, but will oppose any additional cuts to hospitals and other providers.
As for Sandy relief: It is hard for me to imagine how Congress has not yet acted to provide much-needed relief to New York and New Jersey for the devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy. And yet, the sad fact is we are still waiting for action. The Senate did act upon President Obama’s recommendation for a relief package, but the House of Representatives has not. I applaud our New Jersey delegation for pushing Speaker Boehner to post the measure for a vote last night. Unfortunately, he failed to do so.
N.J. Governor Christie and N.Y. Governor Cuomo issued a joint statement saying, “It has now been 66 days since Hurricane Sandy hit and 27 days since President Obama put forth a responsible aid proposal that passed with a bipartisan vote in the Senate while the House has failed to even bring it to the floor. This failure to come to the aid of Americans following a severe and devastating natural disaster is unprecedented. The fact that days continue to go by while people suffer, families are out of their homes, and men and women remain jobless and struggling during these harsh winter months is a dereliction of duty. When American citizens are in need we come to their aid.”
The Senate measure will die on the Senate floor unless the House acts by Thursday, when a new Congress is sworn in. There are real people in real need in our region. Please don’t make them wait any longer.
