AHA recommends actions to promote access to care in rural communities

The AHA today submitted recommendations to the Health Resources and Services Administration in response to the agency’s Rural Access to Health Care Services Request for Information. Specifically, AHA recommended the agency reassess which services are deemed “core” or essential over time to account for changes in care delivery and other developments; consider community characteristics, needs and preferences when recommending services; allow for flexibility and promote community-driven solutions; and use a “rural lens” when developing regulatory actions. The association also encouraged regulatory flexibility for providers to “co-locate” or share treatment space; a permanent enforcement moratorium on the 96-hour condition of payment for critical access hospitals; and finalization of the proposal to change the minimum supervision level for outpatient therapeutic services from “direct” to “general” supervision.