American Hospital Association to Democrats: We oppose President Obama's public healthcare option

Chip Kahn, President of the Federation of American Hospitals, signed a letter to the Democrat platform committee saying public option would only mean greater uncertainty.

The American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals voiced opposition to the public healthcare option that President Obama suggested and presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has since supported.

"The addition of a public option at this time would only introduce greater uncertainty to a healthcare system that is experiencing rapid transformation," the groups said in a letter to Democrat committee chairman Rep. Elijah Cummings, (D-MD). It was signed by Federation President Chip Kahn and AHA Executive Vice President Thomas Nickels. "We respectfully request the Platform Committee's consideration to exclude the public option alternative."

The letter came one day before Hillary Clinton offered support for the public option.

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The hospital groups said two-thirds of their combined member hospitals received levels of Medicare reimbursements below the cost of actually providing care, while the 2014 operating margin on Medicare reimbursements for hospitals was negative 5.8 percent on average. Furthermore, projections show hospital Medicare margins will decline to negative 9 percent in 2016, the lowest such margin ever recorded

"Adding millions more enrollees whose healthcare would be reimbursed at Medicare rates would likely threaten access to needed health care services, particularly for those in vulnerable communities," the groups added in the letter.

This story first appeared in Healthcare IT News.

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