Obamacare hurting Kentucky hospitals
In my travels across Kentucky, I routinely hear from constituents about how disastrous Obamacare has been for them and their families. It’s caused increased premiums, reduced coverage – and now comes further evidence that this terrible law is hurting Kentucky hospitals and the patients they treat.
A recent report published by the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) showed that Obamacare’s multibillion-dollar attack on hospitals throughout my state is expected to result in a net loss of $1 billion over the next few years. That’s a $1 billion loss to hospitals that are oftentimes drivers of the local economy.
Incredibly, this report shows that Kentucky hospitals are expected to lose more money under Obamacare than they’re expected to gain in new revenue from the law’s expanded health care coverage. That’s partly because Obamacare cut Medicare by more than $700 billion to pay for this new entitlement.
A Medicare cut that Kentucky hospitals are feeling particularly hard results from a provision known as the “Bay State Boondoggle,” which adjusted the Medicare reimbursement rate for hospital costs in a way that resulted in a windfall for Massachusetts hospitals at the expense of hospitals in other states. As a result of this provision, Kentucky hospitals have lost approximately $61 million in Medicare payments. To address this loss of funding, I was proud to cosponsor the Hospital Payment Fairness Act, which would end this unfair giveaway.
So how are Kentucky hospitals reacting to this devastating news of lost funding despite coverage expansion? By cutting jobs, reducing or freezing wages, eliminating services or, in some instances, closing down altogether.
In large part due to Obamacare, two-thirds of Kentucky hospitals have eliminated positions through layoffs, attrition or abolishing positions. That’s more than a 10 percent reduction in the statewide hospital workforce from 2013 – a major loss of jobs on top of the other well-known consequences of Obamacare.
Nearly half of all Kentucky hospital workers have experienced either a freeze or a reduction in wages. More than half have seen their benefits, such as health or retirement benefits, reduced.
Two-fifths of all Kentucky hospitals have reported cutting programs and services thanks to lower revenues. Programs and services on the chopping block include psychiatric units and outpatient clinics.
Finally, there are the tragic cases of hospitals that have had no choice but to close their doors. Nicholas County Hospital, located in Carlisle, announced it was closing last year. Parkway Regional Hospital in Fulton, with 192 employees, announced it would close this year.
Every one of these lost jobs, pay or service cuts, or closed facilities degrades the care that Kentuckians receive, and for hospital employees, it means tightening their belts or looking for new work. That’s the last thing our commonwealth needs when too many Kentuckians are still looking for jobs in the Obama economy.
The horrible truth, as too many Kentuckians are finding out the hard way, is that Obamacare is filled with broken promises. It promised that if you liked your plan, you could keep it. It promised to bring health care costs down. It’s a disaster of a law that isn’t working and there’s only one way to fix it. It needs to be repealed and replaced with common-sense, step-by - step reforms that will actually lower health care costs and increase patient choice.
I hope both parties in Washington can come together to work toward this more hopeful outcome. We owe Kentuckians – we owe Americans – more than Obamacare’s broken promises.
In my travels across Kentucky, I routinely hear from constituents about how disastrous Obamacare has been for them and their families. It’s caused increased premiums, reduced coverage – and now comes further evidence that this terrible law is hurting Kentucky hospitals and the patients they treat.
A recent report published by the Kentucky Hospital Association (KHA) showed that Obamacare’s multibillion-dollar attack on hospitals throughout my state is expected to result in a net loss of $1 billion over the next few years. That’s a $1 billion loss to hospitals that are oftentimes drivers of the local economy.
Incredibly, this report shows that Kentucky hospitals are expected to lose more money under Obamacare than they’re expected to gain in new revenue from the law’s expanded health care coverage. That’s partly because Obamacare cut Medicare by more than $700 billion to pay for this new entitlement.
A Medicare cut that Kentucky hospitals are feeling particularly hard results from a provision known as the “Bay State Boondoggle,” which adjusted the Medicare reimbursement rate for hospital costs in a way that resulted in a windfall for Massachusetts hospitals at the expense of hospitals in other states. As a result of this provision, Kentucky hospitals have lost approximately $61 million in Medicare payments. To address this loss of funding, I was proud to cosponsor the Hospital Payment Fairness Act, which would end this unfair giveaway.
So how are Kentucky hospitals reacting to this devastating news of lost funding despite coverage expansion? By cutting jobs, reducing or freezing wages, eliminating services or, in some instances, closing down altogether.
In large part due to Obamacare, two-thirds of Kentucky hospitals have eliminated positions through layoffs, attrition or abolishing positions. That’s more than a 10 percent reduction in the statewide hospital workforce from 2013 – a major loss of jobs on top of the other well-known consequences of Obamacare.
Nearly half of all Kentucky hospital workers have experienced either a freeze or a reduction in wages. More than half have seen their benefits, such as health or retirement benefits, reduced.
Two-fifths of all Kentucky hospitals have reported cutting programs and services thanks to lower revenues. Programs and services on the chopping block include psychiatric units and outpatient clinics.
Finally, there are the tragic cases of hospitals that have had no choice but to close their doors. Nicholas County Hospital, located in Carlisle, announced it was closing last year. Parkway Regional Hospital in Fulton, with 192 employees, announced it would close this year.
Every one of these lost jobs, pay or service cuts, or closed facilities degrades the care that Kentuckians receive, and for hospital employees, it means tightening their belts or looking for new work. That’s the last thing our commonwealth needs when too many Kentuckians are still looking for jobs in the Obama economy.
The horrible truth, as too many Kentuckians are finding out the hard way, is that Obamacare is filled with broken promises. It promised that if you liked your plan, you could keep it. It promised to bring health care costs down. It’s a disaster of a law that isn’t working and there’s only one way to fix it. It needs to be repealed and replaced with common-sense, step-by - step reforms that will actually lower health care costs and increase patient choice.
I hope both parties in Washington can come together to work toward this more hopeful outcome. We owe Kentuckians – we owe Americans – more than Obamacare’s broken promises.
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