Congress has reached a tentative agreement on Fiscal Year 2012 appropriations, with final votes expected in the coming days. The large omnibus package includes funding for rural health programs such as the Medicare Rural Hospital Flexibility Program and Small Rural Hospital Improvement Program. Details on the final numbers are still uncertain and will be provided as soon as they are available; however, both Senate and House ‘mark-ups’ from earlier this year included level funding for these rural programs. The agreement does not include an adjustment for the Medicare sustainable growth rate that will significantly lower physician reimbursement beginning January 1 or any rural "extenders", although lawmakers are continuing to work on a potential fix that can be combined with any extension of the payroll tax holiday.
