NRHA Statement on Senate Finance Committee Reconciliation Bill
The National Rural Health Association released the following statement in response to the Senate Finance Committee’s reconciliation bill text:
“Legislation from the Senate Finance Committee proposes changes to Medicaid that will result in significant coverage losses, reduce access to care for rural patients, and threaten the viability of rural facilities. The National Rural Health Association (NRHA) is extremely concerned by the Committee’s efforts to include similar provisions to those in the House-passed reconciliation package, H.R. 1, such as constraining states’ use of crucial funding mechanisms, proposing inflexible work requirements, requiring frequent eligibility redeterminations, and limiting retroactive coverage.
NRHA is disappointed to see that the proposed legislation would go further than H.R. 1 by phasing down existing state-directed payments and provider taxes, rather than retaining the status quo and imposing future restrictions. Additionally, the Committee proposes expanding work requirements to parents of children 14 years and older. The combined effects of funding and coverage proposals will inevitably impact health care access and outcomes in rural communities across the nation. Rural patients will pay more in the long term because they cannot afford preventive care without Medicaid coverage, thus ultimately driving up costs to the larger rural health care system through increased emergency department use and uncompensated care.
Medicaid is more than just health care coverage in rural communities – it plays a significant role in sustaining the viability of rural health care systems, including hospitals, rural health clinics, long-term care facilities, EMS agencies, and community health centers. Rural areas will suffer if these policies are enacted as rural residents rely upon Medicaid for health care coverage more than their urban counterparts, and public payers, including Medicaid, comprise a larger share of rural hospital services. Drastic cuts, such as those proposed by the Senate Finance Committee, will force many rural facilities to reduce or cut service lines or close their doors entirely, impacting access to care for everyone who lives in in the rural community.
NRHA urges Senators to reject cuts to the Medicaid program and protect rural health care." - Alan Morgan, CEO