U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Michael Bennet, D-Colo., have introduced a bill that would extend the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program for an additional five years.
The program allows rural hospitals with fewer than 51 beds that don’t qualify to be critical access hospitals to be reimbursed by Medicare based on their actual costs, rather than the standard fixed Medicare payment rates.
The program was created in 2003 and has helped more than 50 hospitals keep their doors open for acute care patients, according to an April 30 news release from Mr. Grassley’s office.
The proposal has received support from the American Hospital Association and the National Rural Health Association, according to the release.
Jason Harrington, president and CEO of Spirit Lake, Iowa-based Lakes Regional Healthcare, said the program has been critically important to the hospital’s stability.
“Through participation in the RCHD, Lakes Regional Healthcare has been able to maintain financial stability, reinvest in our facility, recruit and retain essential staff, and continue offering high-quality care close to home,” Mr. Harrington said in the release. “The hospital serves as both a critical health care provider and a key economic anchor. Reauthorization of the RCHD is essential to ensuring that hospitals like Lakes Regional Healthcare can continue to meet the growing needs of our Medicare population and the communities we serve.”
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