A coalition of federal lawmakers from Kansas introduced in the U.S. House this week a bipartisan bill that could offer interest-free loans to rural hospitals “hanging on by a thread.”
U.S. Reps. Sharice Davids and Tracey Mann of Kansas and representatives from Alabama, Colorado, Hawaii, Michigan, Oregon and West Virginia co-sponsored the Rural Hospital Revitalization Act.
Mann and Davids said rural hospitals need resources to continue serving patients and stay open. The bill could help rural hospitals build new facilities or renovate existing ones “so rural Americans don’t have to drive hours to see a health care professional,” Mann said in a statement.
“Every American deserves access to affordable, quality health care, no matter their ZIP code,” he said.
Kansas has the highest number of rural hospitals at immediate risk of closure in the nation. An estimated 68 rural hospitals are at risk of closure and 30 face an immediate risk, according to an analysis by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform.
“Rural hospitals are already hanging on by a thread,” Davids said in a Thursday news release, “and extreme Medicaid cuts are now forcing closures and leaving families with hours-long drives just to see a doctor.”
The bill would offer eligible hospitals interest-free loans for up to 10 years through the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Those loans would support construction and renovationand, in theory, free up funds from reduced debt costs, which could be funneled into care, workforce and operational expenses.
Moran and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, introduced the bill in the Senate in March.
At the time, Moran said in a news release that “rural hospitals are critical to the well-being of the communities they serve in Kansas and across the country.”
Republicans, including Moran and Mann, approved Medicaid cuts in July that could result in Kansas hospitals losing up to $2.65 billion in federal and state Medicaid funding over the next decade. Also included in the legislation was a $50 billion rural health transformation fund, which promised to provide emergency assistance for rural hospitals facing closure.
Kansas received $221 million from the fund in December, securing the sixth-largest sum among receiving states.
Moran said the revitalization bill could foster long-term viability for rural hospitals and, in turn, rural communities.
To qualify for the program under the bill, a hospital must be located in a county with fewer than 20,000 residents and one of two criteria: Possess a critical access hospital or rural emergency hospital designation or be located at least 35 miles from the nearest hospital — or 15 miles if located in an area with mountainous terrain or only secondary roads. Under the bill’s terms, hospitals must also demonstrate a need for the program funds and be financially stable.
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Story via Kansas Reflector
