Editorial: Don't Reduce Funding for Rural Hospitals

A group of 27 U.S. senators has written to President Barack Obama urging him to keep in mind the valuable role of the Critical Access Hospital program as he prepares his fiscal year 2016 budget.

In particular, the senators, including Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, are worried about reducing payment to these facilities and removing from the program some that are within a certain distance of other hospitals.

"Proposals to reduce Medicare reimbursements for CAHs and to arbitrarily rescind CAH designation for some hospitals would be detrimental to the access and delivery of high quality care in rural America," the wrote.
We agree with the senators' sentiment because we believe these rural hospitals play an important role in their communities, both medically and economically. If this sounds familiar, it's because it is. Just over a year ago we urged Congress to defeat a similar proposal.

There are 58 critical access hospitals in Wisconsin. Each one has 25 or fewer beds and serves a rural community. In Northeastern Wisconsin, these facilities include St. Clare Memorial Hospital (formerly Community Memorial Hospital) in Oconto Falls and Bellin Health Oconto Hospital and Clinic in Oconto.

Each faces challenges in accessibility, lack of health care providers, and a growing number of underinsured residents, according to the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health.

These hospitals rely on federal aid, as it accounts for 60 percent of their revenue. Meanwhile, the money saved by changing the Critical Access Hospital designation would be a pittance — "about 100th of 1 percent of 10-year Medicare spending," according to the senator's letter.

We're all for saving money in Medicare, but not at the expense of health care for those who live outside of urban areas.

Closing a rural hospital would force patients to travel farther for care. These rural hospitals, though small, focus on primary care and treating chronic diseases. They can handle 80 percent of the health care needs of their patients, said Steven Brenton, president of the Wisconsin Hospital Association.

But funding cutbacks would result in the closure of about a third of the state's rural hospitals, he said.

Not only do the hospitals provide needed care, but they are an important part of their communities, often providing the best jobs in town. Each critical access hospital contributes 265 jobs to the local economy, the WHA says.

Today is National Rural Health Day and it should serve as a reminder of the funding threat these valuable facilities face with each budget.

More importantly, though, it should serve as a reminder to the valuable service they provide.

Let's hope the president and Congress get the message.

National Rural Health Day
CAH PROGRAM

The Critical Access Hospital program was enacted by Congress in 1997 to prevent the closure of hundreds of rural hospitals across the country, which, due to their small size and care for disproportionately older, sicker and poorer patients, couldn't not financially survive under Medicare's traditional payment system.
— Wisconsin Hospital Association

On the Net
• National Rural Health Day: celebratepowerofrural.org
• Rural Wisconsin Health Cooperative: www.rwhc.com