Following Grassley Oversight, CMS Takes Action on Rural Hospital Demonstration Program

Following Grassley Oversight, CMS Takes Action on Rural Hospital Demonstration Program

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) welcomed an action by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to fill 10 available spaces in its Rural Community Hospital Demonstration (RCHD) program. Citing the program's efficacy and qualifying hospitals' interest, Grassley has spent years pushing CMS to open RCHD applications and fill empty slots.

At a Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing in March, Grassley pressed Dr. Mehmet Oz, then-nominee to be CMS Administrator, to protect and support access to rural health care, including a specific request to fill RCHD slots.

"I'm glad to see CMS fill these slots and give more rural hospitals a chance to thrive. Through this program, rural hospitals will have a better opportunity to keep their doors open and continue providing needed services for their local communities. This fight is not over, and Congress must continue pushing to support rural health care in America," Grassley said.

Background:

The RCHD program boosts financial viability for rural hospitals that are too large to be Critical Access Hospitals and too small to benefit from Medicare's hospital inpatient prospective payment system. Congress created the RCHD in 2003 and has reauthorized it three times. Currently, there are four Iowa hospitals participating in RCHD.

Grassley's Continued Advocacy:

In 2023, Grassley secured a commitment from then-Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra that his agency would "do more" to support struggling rural hospitals. Grassley followed up by urging CMS to open RCHD spots. At Grassley's request, CMS spoke with Iowa facilities looking to participate in the RCHD program.

However, after months of inaction by the Biden administration, Grassley questioned Secretary Becerra about his failure to fill program openings and penned a letter with Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) reminding CMS it should be wielding every tool available to help rural hospitals.

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