Rural healthcare providers need federal assistance, say Gardner, Newhouse

U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) and U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) recently took actions to support the nation’s rural healthcare providers in responding to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sen. Gardner on March 21 signed on as an original cosponsor of the bipartisan Immediate Relief for Rural Facilities and Providers Act, S. 3559, with bill sponsor U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) to provide emergency financial assistance to rural healthcare facilities and providers impacted by the COVID-19 emergency.

“Healthcare providers are on the front lines against COVID-19 and we must ensure they have the necessary resources to successfully combat the pandemic,” Sen. Gardner said. “I have heard from rural hospitals in Colorado and Congress must ensure they stay open.”

If enacted, S. 3559 would provide an emergency mandatory one-time grant to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) and rural Prospective Payment System hospitals equaling $1,000 per patient day for three months, according to a bill summary provided by Sen. Gardner’s office, as well as a one-time, emergency grant equaling the total reimbursement received for services for three months to stabilize the loss of revenue.

Additionally, the bill would provide an emergency one-time grant for all providers and ambulatory surgery centers equal to their total payroll from January 1 through April 1, 2019, among other provisions, according to the summary.

At the same time, Rep. Newhouse joined 27 colleagues to request additional resources for rural healthcare providers as Congress considers a third legislative package to address the coronavirus pandemic.

“At a time when access to care is of paramount importance, rural communities are facing unprecedented rates of hospital closures,” Rep. Newhouse and the lawmakers wrote to leaders in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. “Additionally, workforce shortages are significant and further impede access to care for the communities they serve.”

Rural hospitals, wrote Rep. Newhouse and the lawmakers, serve as both emergency care providers and primary healthcare access points for the communities they serve.

“In many rural communities, CAHs are the economic engines of the local economy, often serving as the largest employer and economic developer of the medical service area,” according to their letter. “They fill this role despite the many fiscal constraints they face, and the coronavirus emergency exposes some of the biggest financial vulnerabilities of these providers.”

The lawmakers outlined specific priorities to support rural healthcare providers, such as an increase in reimbursement rates for rural hospitals’ budgets; federal support for staffing; payment structure changes in response to current patient surges; expanding telehealth services; and an increase in medical products, supplies and personal protective equipment, among others.