Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) introduced bipartisan legislation on Thursday that would reform the rural healthcare funding system and repeal a rule that requires physicians to transfer or discharge patients in under 96 hours.
Sens. Al Franken (D-Minn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Roberts introduced the Craig Thomas Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act (R-HoPE). The measure is named to honor the late Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.).
“The R-HoPE Act recognizes that rural health care providers have very different needs than their urban counterparts and that health care is not one-size-fits-all,” Roberts, the co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Care Caucus, said.
The legislation would amend regulations for rural hospitals that are not as large as medical centers in urban areas. It would also make Medicare funding more equitable to provide additional assistance for smaller, rural hospitals with lower patient volumes.
The R-HoPE Act would strike down the Medicare rule that requires physicians in critical access hospitals to transfer or discharge patients in under 96 hours.
“I am glad we were able to include provisions to get rid of Medicare’s ‘condition of payment’ known as the burdensome 96-hour rule, which is particularly troubling for critical access hospitals and in turn, their patients,” Roberts said.
Roberts previously championed the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act in an effort to repeal the 96-hour rule.