MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND SCHIP BALANCED BUDGET REFINEMENT ACT OF 1999 -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 10, 1999)

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SPEECH OF HON. CAROLYN B. MALONEY

OF NEW YORK IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Friday, November 5, 1999

Mrs. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, I rise in opposition to HR 3075. When the BBA of 1997 was enacted, it wrought havoc with a sea of unintended consequences in Medicare cuts.

Mr. Speaker, in my state alone, the BBA will reduce Medicare hospital payments by $4.8 billion dollars over five years--these cuts are mostly permanent.

They will cripple the delivery of healthcare to seniors and to the under-served far beyond 2002.

While this bill begins to fix some of the devastating cuts, it does not go far enough. The bill before us today provides restorations equaling only 15.6 percent of the BBA Medicare reductions and these are only temporary fixes.

Where does the money for the fixes come from? The restorations come at the expense of direct- graduate- medical- education funding. This means that teaching hospitals in my state will be deprived of $100 to $130 million dollars over 5 years.

The situation of the teaching hospitals is already dire. Because of the BBA, many of these hospitals are close to financial ruin. These institutions are not only the academic centers that train our future healthcare providers--they are the hotbeds of medical research that produces life-saving treatments.

The teaching hospitals are the ``safety net'' hospitals that care for the nation's low-income and uninsured patients when they are sick and have nowhere else to turn.

Mr. Speaker, let me walk you through how this will hurt each off the teaching hospitals in my district.

Because of the teaching hospital provisions included in this bill, Mt. Sinai hospital will lost $14.4 million over 5 years; Lenox Hill hospital will lost $4.5 million over 5 years; Memorial Sloan Kettering hospital will lose $180,00 over 5 years; Beth Israel hospital will lose $33.9 million over 5 years; the hospital for Special Surgery will lose $3.6 million over 5 years; the Hospital for Joint Diseases will lose $1.9 million over 5 years.

The bill before us today neglects to adequately address the crisis in the teaching hospitals. While the bill's restoration of funding to skilled nursing facilities is favorable, only a band-aid, temporary remedy is provided for outpatient hospital departments.

Mr. Speaker, let's go back and do this right. Give us the change to offer amendments and let's have a real debate. While there are some provisions in this bill that I support, I believe that we can do a better job at protecting our Medicare beneficiaries, providers and teaching hospitals. I urge a ``no'' vote.
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