Howard University Hospital In D.C. Could Be Teetering On Edge Of Closure
The hospital is a lifeline for patients who are heavily reliant on Medicare and Medicaid, The Wall Street Journal reported. But after major cuts in federal funding, “This is a very vulnerable hospital,” said Dr. Andrea Hayes Dixon, senior VP of health affairs at Howard University College of Medicine.
For more than a century, Howard University Hospital has been a lifeline for Washington’s low-income communities, treating patients who often have nowhere else to turn. But with a patient population heavily reliant on Medicare and Medicaid—nearly 85%, according to administrators—the hospital has little financial cushion to absorb major reductions in federal funding. President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted the largest federal healthcare spending cuts in U.S. history, totaling over $1 trillion over the next decade, primarily targeting Medicaid. (Siddiqui, 10/23)
In other Medicaid news —
A major union announced a proposal Thursday to impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in California to address federal funding cuts to health care for low-income people. Proponents, including the Service Employees International Union, hope to place the statewide measure before voters next year. The tax would be on the net worth of California’s richest residents. A small portion of the money would also help fund K-12 education since the federal government has threatened to withhold grant money from public schools. (Austin, 10/23)
Two Planned Parenthood affiliates in Ohio are fighting a recent state proposal to terminate their Medicaid provider agreements. (King, 10/24)
The massive tax cut bill President Trump signed in July is forcing states to grapple with a pivotal question: With federal Medicaid spending projected to drop drastically, which patients should get care at home, and how much care should they get? (Broderick, 10/24)
Many health facilities try to avoid Medicaid. A Colorado clinic prefers it. (Ouyang, 10/21)
In Medicare updates —
The American Hospital Association is urging CMS to delay its Medicare prior authorization pilot — the Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction initiative — by at least six months. “This timeframe is impractical for providers and jeopardizes the administration’s goal of easing provider administrative burden associated with prior authorization,” the organization said in an Oct. 23 letter to CMS. The model is currently slated to launch in Arizona, Washington, New Jersey, Texas, Ohio and Oklahoma Jan. 1, 2026. (Casolo, 10/23)
Discharges to post-acute care could get dicier next year in regions where insurers are offering fewer Medicare Advantage plans or exiting markets entirely, unless patients move to traditional Medicare. Medicare-eligible consumers in states such as Vermont, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Dakota and Indiana will see the number of the private plans available in 2026 shrink by one-third to one-half compared to this year. (Eastabrook, 10/23)
Centene is cutting commissions for more Medicare Advantage plans and further limiting marketers’ ability to sign up new members.Starting Friday, the health insurer won’t compensate agents and brokers for new enrollments into 13 plans in Arizona, Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Washington, the company informed agents and brokers in a notice Wednesday. Centene also will remove 36 plans from the portals brokers and agents use to sign up beneficiaries. The annual enrollment period began Oct. 15 and ends Dec. 7. (Tepper, 10/23)
