Washington D.C. (Friday, May 25th 2007)-- Congress provided welcome relief from a misguided proposal that would have weakened the health care safety net that 57 million children, elderly and disabled depend upon. That's good news for patients and families.

The bill contains a one-year moratorium that delays reductions to Medicaid funding -- $3.8 billion over five years. The bill also puts on hold another problematic CMS plan to eliminate federal payments for training tomorrow's physicians under the Graduate Medical Education (GME) program.

We applaud Congressional leadership for recognizing that harsh spending cuts will not solve Medicaid's problems. Instead, we need a continued dialogue with input from Congress and caregivers on the front lines of patient care to ensure continued access to those in need and to ultimately provide for a better health care system.
About AHA

The American Hospital Association (AHA) is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which includes more than 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, and other providers of care, and 37,000 individuals. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA Web site at www.aha.org.

More Industry Headlines