In a letter yesterday, 104 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged Speaker Nancy Pelosi to ensure that the final health reform bill does not lower Medicaid and Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospital payments more than in the House-passed bill. "To retain our health care safety net's stability, we believe that future DSH payments must continue to recognize financial losses sustained by these providers due to Medicaid reimbursement shortfalls and uncompensated care," the representatives wrote. The AHA supported the letter, which was organized by Reps. Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), John Lewis (D-GA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL). The House bill would cut Medicaid and Medicare DSH payments by $10 billion each over 10 years, while the Senate bill would cut Medicaid DSH by $18.5 billion and Medicare DSH by $24.4 billion.