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What’s happening: The House Ways and Means Committee approved six bills that address a wide range of pressing health care issues facing rural communities.
What else to know: CHA will continue to work with members of the California delegation to support these measures and urge their passage into law.
The package of bills includes legislation impacting telehealth access for patients and rural access to care:
- The Preserving Telehealth, Hospital, and Ambulance Access Act (H.R. 8261)
- The Preserving Emergency Access in Key Sites Act (H.R. 7931)
- The Ensuring Seniors’ Access to Quality Care Act (H.R. 8244)
- The Rural Physician Workforce Preservation Act (H.R. 8235)
- The Second Chances for Rural Hospitals Act (H.R. 8246)
The American Hospital Association (AHA) provided a statement to the committee outlining support for the bills extending telehealth flexibilities, the hospital-at-home program, and Medicare-dependent hospitals and low-volume adjustments; and supported provisions involving cost-based reimbursement for critical access hospitals and providing financial assistance to critical access hospitals. AHA also offered comments regarding the distribution of additional Medicare-funded residency positions within the Rural Physician Workforce Preservation Act (H.R. 8235) and legislation that would make changes to the rural emergency hospital designation (Second Chances for Rural Hospitals Act, H.R. 8246).
