Virginia newspaper editorial highlights need to preserve rural hospital programs
The Roanoke Times Editorial Board published “A fair deal for rural hospitals” Tuesday, outlining the challenges many rural hospitals face in light of sequestration, DSH reductions and the pending expiration of Medicare Dependent Hospitals (MDH) and the Low Volume Hospital adjustment (LVH). The newspaper calls funding cuts for older, sicker patients a “volatile combination, made more potent with the small pool of people reliant on these crucial providers, that makes for unpredictable financial challenges” and notes that “because rural hospitals are more dependent on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, changes and uncertainties in those programs are buffeting these small medical facilities this year.” The editorial board also notes that Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are working to preserve these important rural provisions that protect the rural health care safety net. The National Rural Health Association urges all members of Congress to protect the rural health care safety net and to not allow these important rural provisions to expire October 1. NRHA is hosting the March for Rural Hospitals fly in on July 31 in Washington, DC to tell Congress to protect Critical Access Hospitals, Medicare Dependent Hospitals and the Low Volume Hospital adjustment. Registration is free, but required. Visit our March for Rural Hospitals Action Kit for the latest information.