Rural issues

Sens. Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Jon Tester (D-MT) today introduced a Senate companion to the Critical Access Hospital Relief Act (S. 258/H.R. 169), AHA-supported legislation that would remove the 96-hour physician certification requirement as a condition of payment for critical access hospitals.
Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS), Jon Tester (D-MT) and John Thune (R-SD) today introduced the Protecting Access to Rural Therapy Services (PARTS) Act (S.257) which would protect access to outpatient therapeutic services,
We greatly appreciate that the Senate Rural Health Caucus and its members continually recognize the unique circumstances and challenges that small and rural hospitals face.
The CMS FY2015 Budget Justification included language simply stating that CMS must coordinate with the HRSA Office of Rural Health Policy and receive recommendation from the White House Rural Council. Despite this assertion, several policies remain problematic for rural providers and facilities,…
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services published in the May 12 Federal Register a final rule to revise and clarify certain Conditions of Participation and Conditions for Coverage for hospitals, critical access hospitals and other providers, including long-term care facilities, ambulatory…
CMS Implements Extension of Payment Adjustment for Low-Volume and Medicare-Dependent Hospital Programs for Second Half of FY 2014: On Tuesday, June 17, CMS announced in the Federal Register changes implementing the extension of both the low-volume payment adjustment and the Medicare-dependent…