The legislature is sending Governor Kim Reynolds a bill setting up a state process so small Iowa hospitals may be licensed as Rural Emergency Hospital.
Under federal rules, Rural Emergency Hospitals may discontinue in-patient care, while keeping out-patient services and an emergency room open. Rural Emergency Hospitals get five percent extra in federal reimbursement for treating Medicare patients. Senator Jeff Reichman is a Republican from Montrose, which is a 15 minute drive from the Keokuk hospital that closed last fall.
Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), joined by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), John Boozman (R-AR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Roger Wicker (R-MS), reintroduced the Save Rural Hospitals Act - legislation to help curb the trend of hospital closures in rural communities by making sure hospitals are fairly reimbursed for their services by the federal government.
Our health care providers continue to face difficult financial challenges for reasons magnified but not created by the pandemic. Decades of government underinvestment in Medicaid, the inability to offset rising employment costs coupled with a generational workforce cliff and the growing market influence of for-profit insurers all contribute.
The months ahead are shaping up to be challenging for healthcare providers. Skyrocketing expenses compounded by reduced reimbursement rates; increased scrutiny on nursing home staffing levels; and complications resulting from a new Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessment are all expected to trouble long-term care facilities in 2023.