An Arkansas Senate committee approved a bill that would allow rural hospitals to apply for Rural Emergency Hospital designation, opening them up to new sources of federal funds, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Feb. 9.
To get Rural Emergency Hospital designation, hospitals would have to drop almost all inpatient services and focus on emergency, observation and outpatient care.
The bill passed the Arkansas House on a 95-1 vote last week. According to a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform, 16 percent of Arkansas' rural hospitals are at immediate risk of closure.