Votes will likely take place on the hill today regarding cuts which can be harmful to Critical Access Hospitals, Rural Health Clinics, and other safety net providers. Please contact your members of Congress to let them know that any reduction in services in rural areas will likely affect the health status of those residents who rely on safety net providers for essential health care services. New information and opportunities to contact your elected officials will be posted as these issues develop. You may use the message below when contacting your members.
"Recently we received a summary of the agreement that has reportedly been negotiated between House and Senate Conferees to temporarily “fix” the SGR problem, continue the payroll tax cut and address unemployment benefits and extend various expiring provisions.
Included in the summary is an explanation of a provision (Section 3201) dealing with cuts to Medicare bad debt payments to certain providers. Absent from the explanation is any mention of the fact that a significant percentage of the savings attributable to this change will come from the phase-down of Medicare bad debt payments to Critical Access Hospitals and Rural Health Clinics. In fact, the summary fails to mention that this will affect RHCs or CAHs – the smallest and most vulnerable rural providers.
Because of this oversight, we are concerned that you might not be aware of how RHCs and CAHs will be harmed by enactment of this legislation.
The summary states that over a three year period, Medicare bad debt payments to providers receiving 100% of bad debt will be have their bad debt payments limited to 65% of allowable bad debt."
