HYDE-SMITH BACKS BILL TO IMPROVE RURAL EMERGENCY CARE SERVICES WITHIN HEALTH CENTERS, CLINICS

HYDE-SMITH BACKS BILL TO IMPROVE RURAL EMERGENCY CARE SERVICES WITHIN HEALTH CENTERS, CLINICS

Miss. Senator Also Cosponsors Separate Bill to Codify Medicare Reimbursement Values for Struggling Hospitals

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) recently joined U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) in introducing legislation to create two new federal grant programs to expand walk-in urgent care, triage, and emergency stabilization services at existing community health centers, rural healthcare clinics, and local health departments.

The grant programs authorized in the Rural Health Innovation Act (S.4204) are designed to help rural Mississippi address such challenges such as workforce shortages and long travel times for emergency care. It would strengthen support for Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs). There are approximately 240 of each in Mississippi.

"I know firsthand how so many people in rural Mississippi are affected by being so far away from emergency care. Our goal with these new grant programs is to help rural health centers and clinics serve the walk-in urgent care needs for a rural community and serve as a triage center and staging facility for necessary air or ambulance transports to area emergency departments," said Hyde-Smith, who serves on the Senate appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over the U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS).

The Rural Health Innovation Act would establish two competitive grant programs administered by the HHS Health Resources and Services Administration to strengthen emergency and urgent care access in rural communities. The grant programs include:

• Rural Health Center Innovation Awards Program - Grants to FQHCs and RHCs to expand their ability to provide walk-in urgent care, triage, and emergency stabilization services. These grant awards can be up to $500,000 for existing facilities and up to $750,000 for startup facilities.
• Rural Health Department Enhancement Program - Grants to rural local health departments to help meet urgent care and triage needs in their communities. This program allows health departments to function as local triage hubs and staging sites for ambulance or air transport to emergency departments when needed, with grants available up to $500,000.

S.4204, which is also cosponsored by U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) is supported by the National Rural Health Association and the Mississippi Department of Health.

Hyde-Smith is also an original cosponsor of the Save Struggling Hospitals Act (S.4233), which was introduced Thursday by U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Blackburn. This bill would codify the Medicare low-wage index hospital policy that increased Medicare wage index values for hospitals in the bottom 25th percentile. The current formula fails to account for hospitals' increasingly competitive labor markets and the evolving opportunities for providers in telehealth and remote monitoring.

S.4233 would ensure that Mississippi hospitals in rural and low-wage areas receive fair Medicare reimbursement for the essential services they provide and help prevent closure.

The bill has been endorsed by the National Association of Rural Health Clinics, the Mississippi Healthcare Collaborative, the Mississippi Hospital Association, Community Health Center Association of Mississippi, Alliance Health Center-Meridian, Forrest General Hospital-Hattiesburg, George Regional Health System-Lucedale, Merit Health River Oaks-Flowood, North Mississippi Health Services-Tupelo, Singing River Health System-Gulfport, and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

A summary of the Saving Struggling Hospitals Act is available here.

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