Legislation would create new payment option for rural emergency acute care

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) today introduced the Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act, legislation that would allow Critical Access Hospitals and prospective payment system hospitals with 50 or fewer beds to convert to Rural Emergency Hospitals. REHs would provide only emergency care and receive enhanced reimbursement rates of 110% of reasonable costs to transport patients to acute-care hospitals in neighboring communities. In a letter to the senator, AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack called the legislation “a good first step toward ensuring access to health care services in some rural communities,” and said the AHA looks “forward to working with you to further develop this and other alternative payment models to ensure the continued access to health care services in rural communities.”