By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Eastern Kansas Congressman Derek Schmitt says Congress will need to review its changes to Medicaid to lessen any impact they might have on rural hospitals.
Critics charge the Medicaid changes contained in the one big, beautiful bill might look pretty ugly to rural hospitals which rely on Medicaid payments to survive.
Schmitt, a Republican, defends changes that require recipients to look for work or enroll in college.
“That is very reasonable. It’s the right thing to do. It should have been the public policy all along. It is in most of the public benefits programs,” Schmitt tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. “And applying that to Medicaid, it’s not just a numbers thing, it’s the right thing to do for the individuals involved. There’s a dignity in work and helping people move in the direction of becoming self-sufficient is very, very important for all of us.”
Schmitt acknowledges, though, that the changes could hurt rural hospitals.
“This is a complicated issue. You’re talking about tweaking different parts of a spending formula that affects many, many people; many, many communities and lots and lots and lots of taxpayer money,” Schmitt says. “And we need to be able to get pass the sort of sloganeering debate and have a more thoughtful discussion about the individual provisions. That’s what we’re trying to do.”
Schmitt says the Senate moves that changed the provider tax and state-directed payments could hurt rural hospitals and should be re-examined by Congress.
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