H.R. 3684: Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act

This bill, known as the Save America’s Rural Hospitals Act, aims to improve financial support and services for rural health care providers under Medicare and Medicaid. Here are the key components of the bill:

1. Enhanced Payments for Rural Hospitals

• Elimination of Medicare Sequestration: The bill proposes to remove spending cuts (sequestration) that currently affect payments to critical access hospitals and other rural hospitals.
• Reimbursement for Bad Debt: It restores and increases reimbursement for uncollected debts at critical access hospitals and rural hospitals by an additional 15%.
• Payment Levels for Low-Volume and Medicare-Dependent Hospitals: The bill permanently extends increased payment levels for low-volume hospitals and those heavily reliant on Medicare.
• Disproportionate Share Payments: It extends financial assistance for certain hospitals that serve a significant number of low-income patients.
• Area Wage Index Adjustments: Adjustments will be made to help hospitals with lower wage indexes receive fairer payment rates.

2. Support for Other Rural Providers

• Ambulance Services: It makes increased Medicare payments for ground ambulance services in rural areas permanent.
• Telehealth Services: Medicare telehealth service enhancements will be made permanent for federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics, allowing greater access to health care services.
• State Authority to Waive Distance Restrictions: The bill allows states to waive the requirement that critical access hospitals be located more than 35 miles from other hospital services, allowing more facilities to qualify for additional support.

3. Medicare Beneficiary Equity

• Equal Copayments: It proposes to standardize copayments for services received at critical access hospitals, making them more affordable for patients.

4. Regulatory Relief

• Inpatient Service Requirements: The bill removes the requirement for physician certification of inpatient services and the limit on length of stay at critical access hospitals.
• Extended Care Services: The hospitalization requirement for certain extended care services will be eliminated, allowing for more flexible coverage.

5. Future of Rural Health Care

• Grant Programs: The bill establishes grants for rural hospitals to convert into rural emergency hospitals, supporting local emergency services and maintaining operations during public health emergencies.
• Support for Rural Health Transformation: It outlines plans for funding to support innovative health care models in rural areas, ensuring they can adapt to changing community needs.

Relevant Companies

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