Senate Committee Approves Rural Health Care Connectivity Act
“We must continue to work toward bringing health care to rural communities that don’t have the access and availability afforded to more urban areas."
By - Those living in rural areas of the country without a hospital delivering affordable care nearby may soon be at ease due to passage of a new bipartisan bill.
United States Senator John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, confirmed praise yesterday for passage of a bill he authored, Rural Health Care Connectivity Act of 2015 (S. 1916).
“I’m glad the Commerce Committee approved this important legislation, which will help support and improve the services that skilled nursing facilities [SNFs], like the ones operated throughout the country by Sioux Falls-based Good Samaritan Society, provide to rural America,” Thune stated in a press release.
“We must continue to work toward bringing health care to rural communities that don’t have the access and availability afforded to more urban areas, which is why I’m hopeful the full Senate will be able to consider this legislation without delay.”
This bill aims to amend the Communications Act of 1934 so SNFs have support from the Universal Service Fund’s (USF) Rural Health Care Program (RHCP). It additionally delineates which healthcare providers are qualified for RHCP support; SNFs are not included at this time.
Funding will be provided to advance healthcare among rural communities via telecommunications and broadband services. Passage of the bill from the committee means it will be reported to the full Senate for upcoming consideration.
Considering the evolution of the rural hospital struggle
Rural hospitals have been a hot topic among congressional discussions. Rural hospitals are often struggling to remain independent and not be swallowed up by their larger neighbors. Similarly, Medicare reimbursement concerns mean hospital leaders are fighting to survive.
Rural hospitals tend to serve patient populations made up of high elderly and low income beneficiaries compared to the rest of the nation, explained numerous hospital leaders within official Congress testimony last May.
These patients are more likely to visit the emergency room, “the most expensive venue for care,” said Julie Peterson, CPA, Chief Executive Officer. “And, because these patients have not been able to pay their medical bills, the cost of their care is passed on to privately-insured individuals in the form of higher insurance premiums."
“Long gone are the days when each small town had its own ‘Jack of all trades’ doctor who could ... check on Grandma’s aching back,” added Kristi Henderson, DNP, CFNP, CACNP, FAEN.
The definition of “rural” is vague and subjective, said Kimber Wraalstad, North Shore Hospital Administrator. Those leaders and experts producing medical reimbursement laws remain ill-informed about what defines an isolated geographic area, she said.
Posing an example, Wraalstad explained that some in Washington, D.C. – a city with a population topping 650,000 – may look at the smaller city of Duluth, Minnesota – with a population below 90,000 – and say, “boy, that’s rural.”
Perhaps perspective is merely relative to where you are and what you know. “I look at Duluth and I see urban metro,” she stated.
In light of these highlighted struggles and many more, it is hopeful Thune’s bill will soon advance the quality of healthcare delivered among those rural communities lacking the access and availability of their larger peers.
