AHA backs Senate bill to preserve rural hospitals’ financial health 

A new Senate bill has won AHA’s backing due to the way it would provide rural hospitals with a much-needed financial lifeline. The Save Rural Hospitals Act, introduced last week by Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., would establish a national minimum rate of 0.85 for the AWI reimbursement rate, resulting in an infusion of new federal dollars to rural hospitals at this critical time. “This will ensure that rural hospitals receive more appropriate payment amounts for the care they provide to their patients and enable better accounting for the rising labor costs in rural communities,” wrote AHA in its letter of support.