Contact your House representative today and tell them to vote on HR 3630. This bill threatens rural providers and a vote on it is expected as early as this week.
HR 3630 is intended to update the Medicare Sustainable Growth Rate and reauthorize expiring tax provisions; however, it fails to extend various rural provisions including the Outpatient Hospital Hold Harmless Provisions. More problematic, HR 3630 proposes to pay for the SGR fix, expiring extenders, and tax credits by cutting reimbursements to hospitals and clinics. Specifically, HR 3630 would reduce bad debt payments for Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, prospective payment system (PPS) Hospitals, and Federally Qualifying Health Centers and also reduce reimbursements to PPS hospitals for hospital-based primary care physician practices.
While Congress must act this month to address these important issues, shortchanging rural hospitals and providers is not an acceptable solution. Take action today by calling your House member and asking her/him to oppose HR 3630 and to protect vulnerable hospitals and clinics in rural communities when addressing the Medicare SGR and rural extenders. Click here for more information from the National Rural Health Association. Stay tuned for additional information and updates and please contact us with questions or feedback.
