Congress urged to continue commitment to rural hospitals

In commemoration of National Rural Health Day, the AHA today expressed appreciation to members of the Senate Rural Health Caucus and House Rural Health Care Coalition for their ongoing commitment to America’s rural hospitals and the communities and patients they serve. The letters praise the lawmakers’ support for certain legislation that passed during the 114th Congress and highlight remaining priorities important to rural hospitals. These include removing the Medicare 96-hour condition of payment for critical access hospitals; adopting a default standard of general supervision for outpatient therapeutic services in rural hospitals and CAHs; improving the Recovery Audit Contractor program; maintaining the extension of the 340B Drug Pricing Program; delaying Stage 3 meaningful use for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive programs; extending the Rural Community Hospital Demonstration Program; adjusting the Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program for sociodemographic factors; and permanently extending certain Medicare provisions that expire in 2017. For more information, see the AHASTAT blog.