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The AHA and seven other national organizations representing hospitals Nov. 29 voiced strong support for a Medicaid managed care proposal to establish the Average Commercial Rate as the upper payment limit for inpatient and outpatient hospital services in the context of state directed payments, but urged the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services not to move forward with proposed restrictions on states’ use of provider-based funding sources such as provider taxes to finance Medicaid payments.

“Such restrictions could have dire consequences for coverage and access to care as states would be unable to replace lost funds with other sources of revenue,” the organizations wrote. “More importantly, finalizing such policies could have a disproportionate impact on access to care for the historically marginalized populations Medicaid is intended to serve.”