Tammy Baldwin defends rural health care

Sen. Tammy Baldwin has emerged as a leader in the fight against proposed cuts to Medicare reimbursements for rural hospitals. And Wisconsinites should hope that she succeeds, as the cuts she is opposing threaten to reduce access to health care and weaken rural economies across the United States.

Along with 19 other senators, Baldwin is asking Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and the ranking Republican on the committee, Utah’s Orrin Hatch, to help them block changes in how Medicare classifies and makes payments to “critical access hospitals.”

“Critical access hospitals” provide services in rural areas that have limited health care options. Historically, they have received slightly higher Medicare reimbursements. Because it is relatively inexpensive to provide health care in sparsely populated rural areas, the costs of these higher payments have not put much of a burden on the Medicare budget. But they have ensured that access to quality care is maintained.

Now the Obama administration is proposing to remove the “critical access hospital” designation from hospitals that are located within 10 miles of other medical facilities. The problem with that calculation is that it does not take into account transportation challenges and other factors that make it hard for rural Americans to get to hospitals.

At least eight Wisconsin hospitals would lose their protected status if the Obama administration gets its way.

“If enacted, these policies would compromise access to health care and weaken rural economies in Wisconsin and across the country,” says Baldwin. “I fear that these proposals could even force many rural Wisconsin hospitals to shut their doors — causing a ripple effect on our economy and leaving many without access to care.”

Baldwin’s right to fight the Obama administration on this one.

The government can and must ensure that quality care is available in rural areas.