Save Critical Access Hosptials
Petition Statement
Help stop the attack on rural healthcare. Having quality healthcare available in rural communities is a necessity. Thanks to the Critical Access Hospital Program, quality healthcare is currently available to thousands of Nebraskans and millions of rural Americans.
When Congress made changes to the Medicare program in the mid-1980's, it changed the way hospitals were reimbursed for treating Medicare patients. The government's actions unintentionally hurt small rural hospitals. Medicare no longer paid rural hospitals for the actual cost of providing care. The result was hospitals lost money on services and procedures they provided. Consequently many rural hospitals faced bankruptcy and some faced closure.
The Critical Access Hospital Program was created by the 1997 federal Balanced Budget Act as a safety net device, to assure Medicare beneficiaries access to health care services in rural areas. It was designed to allow more flexible staffing options relative to community need, simplified billing methods and created incentives to develop local integrated healthcare delivery systems, including acute, primary, emergency and long-term care.
The majority of Critical Access Hospitals (CAHs) are located where the largest segment of the population is aged 65 years or older. The central states lead the way in the numbers of CAHs. Nebraska has 60 CAHs throughout the state. Before Congress established the Critical Access Hospital program, the Nebraska Unicameral established a Critical Access Hospital (CAH) category. This new type of hospital’s primary difference was that the Medicare program uses a different method to reimburse them for services. This method helped smaller hospitals remain financially viable and maintained access to quality healthcare for citizens in many rural communities.
Rural hospitals are unique and cannot be treated the same as larger hospitals. They require more flexibility from government regulations and federal policies to provide quality care to their patients. This helps them provide access to cost-effective, quality healthcare. The CAH Status has allowed Thayer County Health Services in Nebraska and many other rural hospitals to remain financially viable. That is because for some critical access hospitals, Medicare patients make up 75% to 80% of their patients. The White House proposed plan could mean annual cuts of up to $150,000 for each of the nation’s critical access hospitals.
Rural communities are already dealing with declining populations. Having quality healthcare is necessary in attracting new industry, jobs and people to rural communities. Slashes made to Medicare payments for CAHs or the elimination of the CAH designation would force many rural hospitals to cut certain services and could force them to close their doors. Rural America would face the elimination of more jobs in small towns all across the country because often the hospital is a major source of employment. When you consider Critical Access Hospitals consume less than 5% of the Medicare budget, the harm to rural communities is not justified. Join me in supporting Rural Healthcare. Tell Congress and the Senate to leave the Critical Access Hospitals Program alone. The time to act is now before it is too late!