Yesterday, Rep. Jack Bergman co-led a bipartisan letter with Reps. Bob Latta (OH-05), Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05), and TJ Cox (CA-21), urging U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Azar and Deputy Secretary Hargan to use resources passed in the CARES Act to protect rural hospitals and health centers. With the first payment from the CARES Act provider fund being released by HHS today, efforts to ensure rural hospitals get their fair share of federal resources are more important than ever.
The letter was cosigned by 30 other Members of Congress, and is supported by the National Rural Health Association, the Michigan Center for Rural Health, and multiple rural hospitals and health centers in Michigan’s First District.
The Members wrote in part, "Without intervention, COVID-19 will close hundreds of rural hospitals across the country, and tens of thousands of rural patients will lose access to their nearest emergency room. The loss of revenue over the last few weeks, due to the inability to provide non-emergency care, is destabilizing core health services in rural America. Prior to the pandemic, nearly half of all rural hospitals were operating at a loss and rural closure rates were escalating dramatically. Today, these already financially fragile hospitals face catastrophic cash shortages. Many have furloughed staff, instituted massive cuts or are shuttering their doors."
The Members requested that any formula to allocate CARES funding include the following metrics:
A 20 percent Rural Benchmark in the $100 billion provider fund;
Priority should be granted to facilities that have been significantly affected by COVID-19 preparation;
Priority should be granted for facilities that provide care for a disproportionally high percentage of Medicare and Medicaid patients; and
Priority should be granted for facilities that provide care for populations with above-average senior populations or co-morbidities that are particularly vulnerable to complications from COVID-19.
