Rep. Carol Miller
Medicare-dependent hospital and Medicare low-volume hospital payments would be extended for five years under bipartisan legislation sponsored on Aug. 26 by U.S. Rep. Carol Miller (R-WV) that aims to ensure integral funding continues for America’s rural hospitals.
Without legislation to continue these programs, they would expire on Sept. 30, reducing payments to participating rural hospitals, according to the congresswoman’s office.
“Rural hospitals are the foundation of West Virginia’s healthcare infrastructure,” Rep. Miller said. “It is essential to the well-being of rural communities that these smaller healthcare access points have the resources and accommodations necessary to remain operable.”
Rep. Miller introduced the Assistance for Rural Community Hospitals (ARCH) Act of 2022, H.R. 8747, with original cosponsor U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL).
Congress established the Medicare-Dependent Hospital (MDH) program in 1987 to permit eligible hospitals to receive the sum of their prospective payment system (PPS) payment rate, plus three-quarters of the amount by which their cost per discharge exceeds the PPS rate, according to information Rep. Miller’s office cited from the American Hospital Association, which says these payments provide MDHs with more financial stability.
H.R. 8747, which is supported by the West Virginia Hospital Association, has been referred for consideration to the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee.
“Our West Virginia hospitals are grateful for Congresswoman Carol Miller’s support of local rural hospitals here in our state and across the country,” said Melanie Dempsey, vice president of Financial Policy at the West Virginia Hospital Association.