Senators Grassley and Welch work to provide more support for rural hospitals

(ABC 6 News) – Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Senator Peter Welch of Vermont introduced the bipartisan “Rural Hospital Support Act” on Tuesday.

The bill was introduced in an effort to prevent rural hospital closures by extending and modernizing critical Medicare programs.

If passed, it permanently extend the Medicare-Dependent Hospital Program and Low-Volume Hospital Program. That would mean ensuring eligible hospitals are reimbursed for their costs and making things even for rural hospitals whose operating costs outpace their revenue.

It would also update the rebasing year for Sole Community Hospitals and MDHs, allowing hospitals to tie reimbursement estimates to more recent trends in costs.