Rep. Crenshaw Leads Bipartisan Effort to Protect Disproportionate Share Hospitals

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 17th, 2025

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dan Crenshaw (R-TX), Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY), Congressman Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO) led a bipartisan letter urging House leadership to stop scheduled cuts to the Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital (DSH) program. 141 Members of Congress signed on to this letter to protect American hospitals from these devastating cuts.

The $8 billion reduction, slated to take effect on October 1, 2025, would slash DSH funding by more than half, threatening safety-net, rural, and urban hospitals already facing financial strain.

In the letter, the Members wrote: "The Medicaid DSH program is a vital resource for hospitals treating low-income patients in our communities. These payments are used to support critical hospital services in both rural and urban areas of the country, including burn and trauma unit services and maternal and child health care."

The Medicaid DSH program was established to support hospitals that serve disproportionate numbers of low-income patients. Payments help offset uncompensated care and Medicaid underpayments and are capped by both state allotments and hospital-specific limits. Without this support, hospitals often face tough choices about cutting essential services, reducing staff, or closing their doors entirely. Congress has repeatedly acted to prevent scheduled DSH reductions in the past, recognizing the program's importance to vulnerable populations. This year's scheduled $8 billion cut would be the largest in the program's history.

The letter continued: "Cuts of this magnitude would decimate the program… Our hospitals are already under increasing financial strain, and reductions of this size would push vulnerable rural and other safety net hospitals-and the patients they serve-into peril."

Background:

• Medicaid DSH was created to support hospitals caring for a disproportionate share of low-income patients.
  
  
• Current law requires an $8 billion reduction in FY 2026.
  
  
• Congress has repeatedly delayed such reductions on a bipartisan basis.
  
  
• Without action, hospitals nationwide could face devastating service cuts or closures.
  
  

Read the full bipartisan letter here.

Full List of Co-Signers:

Bacon, Don; Balderson, Troy; Balint, Becca; Barragán, Nanette; Beatty, Joyce; Bera, Ami; Bergman, Jack; Bilirakis, Gus; Bishop, Sanford; Brownley, Julia; Cammack, Kat; Carbajal, Salud; Carey, Mike; Carter, Earl; Carter, Troy; Casten, Sean; Castro, Joaquin; Chu, Judy; Cisneros, Gilbert; Clarke, Yvette; Cleaver, Emanuel; Correa, J.; Costa, Jim; Craig, Angie; Crank, Jeff; Crenshaw, Dan; Crockett, Jasmine; Crow, Jason; Cuellar, Henry; Davids, Sharice; Davis, Danny; Dean, Madeleine; DeGette, Diana; De La Cruz, Monica; Deluzio, Christopher; Dexter, Maxine; Doggett, Lloyd; Elfreth, Sarah; Escobar, Veronica; Espaillat, Adriano; Evans, Dwight; Evans, Gabe; Figures, Shomari; Finstad, Brad; Fitzpatrick, Brian; Fong, Vince; Foster, Bill; Friedman, Laura; Garamendi, John; Garbarino, Andrew; García, Jesús; Garcia, Robert; Gillen, Laura; Goldman, Daniel; Gonzales, Tony; Gonzalez, Vicente; Goodlander, Maggie; Gray, Adam; Harder, Josh; Hill, J.; Hurd, Jeff; Jackson, Jonathan; Johnson, Dusty; Johnson, Julie; Kelly, Robin; Kennedy, Timothy; Kim, Young; Krishnamoorthi, Raja; LaLota, Nick; Landsman, Greg; Langworthy, Nicholas; Latimer, George; Latta, Robert; Lawler, Michael; Lee, Susie; Levin, Mike; Lieu, Ted; Luttrell, Morgan; Mackenzie, Ryan; Malliotakis, Nicole; Mannion, John; Mann, Tracey; Matsui, Doris; McBride, Sarah; McClellan, Jennifer; Meeks, Gregory; Meng, Grace; Meuser, Daniel; Mfume, Kweisi; Miller, Max; Moran, Nathaniel; Morelle, Joseph; Moulton, Seth; Mrvan, Frank; Mullin, Kevin; Nadler, Jerrold; Neguse, Joe; Norcross, Donald; Obernolte, Jay; Ocasio-Cortez, Alexandria; Pappas, Chris; Pelosi, Nancy; Pfluger, August; Quigley, Mike; Ramirez, Delia; Riley, Josh; Rivas, Luz; Rutherford, John; Ryan, Patrick; Sánchez, Linda; Scanlon, Mary Gay; Schakowsky, Janice; Schmidt, Derek; Schneider, Bradley; Schrier, Kim; Sewell, Terri; Sherman, Brad; Simon, Lateefah; Simpson, Michael; Smith, Adam; Smith, Christopher; Soto, Darren; Stevens, Haley; Strickland, Marilyn; Suozzi, Thomas; Swalwell, Eric; Sykes, Emilia; Tenney, Claudia; Thompson, Bennie; Thompson, Mike; Tonko, Paul; Torres, Norma; Torres, Ritchie; Trahan, Lori; Tran, Derek; Valadao, David; Vasquez, Gabe; Veasey, Marc; Velázquez, Nydia; Weber, Randy; Whitesides, George