ACUTE CARE, INC. supports the Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act.
Reps. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) recently introduced the bipartisan Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act to the 117th Congress to rescue rural hospitals on the brink of bankruptcy and help place these critical care providers back on solid ground. “Since 2010, 137 rural hospitals have closed their doors, leaving the majority of those communities without access to a health care provider,” says NRHA CEO Alan Morgan. “The provisions in this important legislation will ensure that the more-than-60 million Americans who reside in rural America will maintain access to the care they need.” As the increased financial support from the federal government that stemmed the tide of hospital closures in 2021 dries up, experts worry more rural hospitals could close this year. To prevent more closures, researchers Andrew S. Osgood, B.S. and NRHA member George H. Pink, Ph.D. encourage rural health stakeholders to watch for these signs of financial distress. Additionally, a pair of representatives from New York are pushing for more information on a rule change that could threaten the critical access hospital status of many facilities in their state and across the country, risking loss of the designation and the critical financial support that comes with it.
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