Children’s hospitals take fight over military payments to Congress – By Leo Shane III (Military Times) / May 17, 2024
Some civilian children’s hospital programs could face severe cutbacks if lawmakers don’t reverse a Defense Department rule on health care reimbursements that’s upending their financial plans, officials from the medical centers warn.
The issue is expected to be among dozens of topics debated as part of the annual defense authorization bill in coming weeks, but is one of only a handful of provisions of the sweeping defense policy bill that could have broad repercussions both inside and outside the military community.
In a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders on May 13, members of the Children’s Hospital Association warned the issue is already leading to “drastic rate reductions … which may impact access to care in some of the major defense communities across the country.”
Just a few days earlier, members of The Military Coalition — 35 organizations advocating on military and veterans issues — warned lawmakers that the reimbursement problems “have the potential to risk the health of military kids, harm quality of life for those serving our nation, and ultimately undermine mission readiness.”
