The petition
Dear Georgia Department of Community Health:
As Georgia’s current and future health professionals, we are deeply concerned by the proposed changes to the Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program administered through the Indigent Care Trust Fund published in the 2008 ICTF/DSH Hospital Payment Public Notice. We request that you reject the proposed changes to the program because they unfairly penalize Grady Memorial Hospital, which serves the greatest number of poor and disadvantaged patients in Georgia.
HealthSTAT’s Grady is Vital Campaign is mobilizing hundreds of health students and residents from across Georgia to ensure that Grady not just survives but thrives. Grady is an invaluable public safety net hospital, serving nearly 1 million patients per year, of which 40% are uninsured and 45% are Medicaid recipients. Many of these patients only access healthcare through Grady and often depend on Grady for their very survival. Last year, Grady provided more than $200 million in unreimbursed services to-low income Georgians but is predicted to receive a DSH payment of only $69 million this year due to the proposed changes. These changes will prevent the DSH program from fulfilling its mission of financially aiding hospitals that care for a disproportionate share of uninsured patients. Hospitals such as Grady that actually provide disproportionate indigent care are being shortchanged tens of millions of dollars as DSH has become an across-the-board subsidy for Georgia’s health care delivery system.
We urge you to modify the DSH proposal so that it reflects the disproportionately high volume of low-income patients that Grady serves and effectively protects the health care safety net. As Georgia’s current and future health care providers, we appeal to you to restore the DSH funding that is critical to Grady’s survival as an essential public safety net hospital and vital healthcare resource for all Georgians.
Sign the petition
Fields marked * are required.