The conference agenda centered five areas of concern and proposals for how they should be addressed.
Early last month the American Hospital Association released their Rural Advocacy Agenda, which was discussed during its leadership conference on February 8.
According to the organization, this year's Rural Health Care Leadership Conference had a strong focus on "broader, forward-looking legislative and regulatory priorities."
"The AHA is working to ensure federal policies and regulations are update to reflect the urgent needs of hospitals and health systems during these challenging times," according to the agenda. "We continue to prioritize advancing innovation, making strides in care delivery and investing new resources to protect access to care for Americans living in rural communities."
The Rural Advocacy Agenda focuses on five areas of concern and puts forth proposals for how they should be addressed.
Support Flexible Payment Options
As the industry continues to change, flexible payment options are a necessity, especially in rural areas. AHA proposed that existing flexible payment options in rural communities should be strengthened to ensure patient's access to care. To support local access care in rural areas, it wants Congress to reopen the necessary provider designation for critical access hospitals (CAH) program.
To further assist rural hospitals, the Medicare-dependent hospital (MDH) program should become permanent and add an additional base year that hospitals may choose for calculating payments. Similarly, sole community hospitals (SCH) should also have an additional base year to calculate payments.
Ensure Fair and Adequate Reimbursement
The current rural healthcare crisis is a testament to the difficulties of providing care in rural areas. To combat this, the AHA suggested updating the reimbursement rates across payers to cover the cost of providing care.
One item emphasizes price transparency for patients and regulations to prevent "surprise billing" from restricting their access to the care they need. Some solutions, like repealing the payment caps on provider-based Reverse Rural Health Clinics and eliminating Medicare sequester cuts, will require legislative action; which the organization is urging Congress to do.
Additional items that would require legislative action include those that would improve prior authorization process to enable providers to spend more time treating patients rather than on paperwork.
Support Connected Care
The use of telehealth skyrocketed during the pandemic and is steadily becoming commonplace. With this and understanding the technical risks that come with sharing sensitive information online, AHA is calling for the government to increase their cybersecurity assistance efforts. Having the federal government invest in broadband connectivity, so that it may be more easily affordable, was also named as a priority.
The agenda also suggested that Congress make permanent expanded telehealth coverage during public health emergencies, and that Medicare policies should be updated to cover telehealth delivery. Hospitals and health systems with maintaining telehealth infrastructure should also be reimbursed for the maintenance costs.
Bolster the Workforce
The shortage of healthcare workers has impacted rural communities the most, with about 70% of primary care health professional shortage areas being in rural communities. To address this issue, the AHA suggests developing targeted programs to build and sustain the workforce.
One method suggested would involve Congress passing legislation to increase the number of Medicare-funded residency slots, which would allow training to be expanded to rural areas. Additionally, it encourages the passing of the Pathway to Practice program, which promotes diversity among physicians and make them more accessible in "communities dealing with sustained hardship."
Rein in Prescription Drug Prices
The price of prescription drugs going up can prevent patients from getting the medications that they need. Currently, the 340B Drug Pricing Program helps hospitals get the most out of their resources, and the AHA emphasized that it must be protected.
To further address the rise in prescription drug prices, the organization suggests increasing the competition among drug manufacturers, price transparency, implementing an advance value-based payment model, and making drug therapies and supplies more accessible.
Jasmyne Ray is the revenue cycle editor at HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
The agenda emphasizes five areas of concern, including the flexible payment options and building up the workforce.
For issues like reimbursement rates, price transparency was encouraged, as well as implementing regulations to prevent "surprise billing" from restricting a patient's access to care.
With telehealth use growing during the pandemic, the agenda also called for the government to increase its cybersecurity efforts and invest in broadband connectivity so that it may be more affordable and accessible.