Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) has introduced the Rural Emergency Acute Care Hospital Act, which would allow Critical Access Hospitals and prospective payment system hospitals with 50 or fewer beds to convert to Rural Emergency Hospitals.
These hospitals would only offer emergency care and would receive enhanced reimbursement rates of 110 percent of reasonable costs to move patients to acute-care hospitals in nearby communities.
According to AHA Executive Vice President Rick Pollack, the legislation is "a good first step toward ensuring access to healthcare services in some rural communities."