Health News
- Medicaid Expansion Would Have 'a Big Health Impact,' And Critical-access Hospitals Need To Change, Rural-health Expert Says
Expansion of the Medicaid program under federal health-care reform would have a major beneficial impact on the health of Kentucky, a doctor who ran the state and national rural-health agencies told a rural-health meeting in Louisville Tuesday. "Medicaid...
- Death Rates For Heart And Pneumonia Patients At Critical-access Hospitals Are Rising Nationally, Study Finds
Death rates are rising at rural critical-access hospitals for Medicare patients who have heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Hospitals designated as critical-access...
- Federal Cuts, Financial Instability And Competition Leave Many Rural Hospitals Fearing The Future
Many rural hospitals could be forced to close because of cuts to the Critical Access Program and the fact that, according to the National Rural Health Association, , 41 percent of critical-care hospitals are losing money, reports Jenny Gold of Kaiser...
- Natl. Rural Health Assn. President, At Uk, Says Rural Health Cuts Won't Save Money Or Help Communities But Will Eliminate Jobs
Speaking about President Obama's proposed cuts to rural health care Wednesday, Susan Starling was frank about her feelings: "As a CEO of a critical access hospital, I'm very nervous. What do I need to do as a hospital administrator?" she asked...
- Defenders Of Small, Rural Hospitals Take Issue With Study That Found Poor Patient Outcomes
A recent study that concluded small, rural "critical access hospitals" have poorer patient outcomes and lower quality of care is making waves in the medical community. A federally funded monitoring team from three universities issued a response noting...
Health News
Lame-duck Congress could cut funding for critical access hospitals; more than two dozen in Kentucky
Critical access hospitals, which in most states are rural facilities with fewer than 25 beds, may be under attack in the lame-duck session of Congress, former national rural-health director Wayne Myers writes for the Daily Yonder. President Obama's "budget proposes to revoke CAH status and special payments for any such hospital within 10 miles of another hospital, and to cut the extra 1 percent payment for all of the critical access hospitals," Myers writes. (Census Bureau map of CAH locations)
This would "have enormous consequences," Myers writes. "Of the hospitals that lose CAH designation probably most will close or merge with another hospital. I've seen no estimates of numbers. There are more than a few congressional budget hawks in both parties who would like to eliminate the special payments to Critical Access Hospitals entirely. If these small hospitals dodge the bullet during the lame duck session, they'll continue to be targets in the next Congress. If they are successful in reducing payments to CAHs, the net effect will be to move health care capacity and jobs from smaller to larger towns."
The issue is complex. Rural areas have less political clout than ever, because of declining population, and many rural people use urban hospitals over CAHs, even for ordinary care. "Those who do use CAHs say their experience there is just as good as that in urban hospitals, even if the quality of care isn't as good as in larger facilities," Myers writes. "Elderly patients stay at CAHs because they know the nurses and doctors and their families live close by."
Issues for CAHs arise out of how Medicare payments are made to them, Myers writes. "A long list of arcane, special funding arrangements has accumulated to try to fit small rural hospitals into a Medicare payment system designed for large city hospitals." The largest program is the "Disproportionate Share Program," or DISH, which gives $15 billion a year to states to hand out to CAHs. The program is being phased out between 2014 and 2020, along with several other programs, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (Read more)
The issue is complex. Rural areas have less political clout than ever, because of declining population, and many rural people use urban hospitals over CAHs, even for ordinary care. "Those who do use CAHs say their experience there is just as good as that in urban hospitals, even if the quality of care isn't as good as in larger facilities," Myers writes. "Elderly patients stay at CAHs because they know the nurses and doctors and their families live close by."
Issues for CAHs arise out of how Medicare payments are made to them, Myers writes. "A long list of arcane, special funding arrangements has accumulated to try to fit small rural hospitals into a Medicare payment system designed for large city hospitals." The largest program is the "Disproportionate Share Program," or DISH, which gives $15 billion a year to states to hand out to CAHs. The program is being phased out between 2014 and 2020, along with several other programs, as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. (Read more)
- Medicaid Expansion Would Have 'a Big Health Impact,' And Critical-access Hospitals Need To Change, Rural-health Expert Says
Expansion of the Medicaid program under federal health-care reform would have a major beneficial impact on the health of Kentucky, a doctor who ran the state and national rural-health agencies told a rural-health meeting in Louisville Tuesday. "Medicaid...
- Death Rates For Heart And Pneumonia Patients At Critical-access Hospitals Are Rising Nationally, Study Finds
Death rates are rising at rural critical-access hospitals for Medicare patients who have heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Hospitals designated as critical-access...
- Federal Cuts, Financial Instability And Competition Leave Many Rural Hospitals Fearing The Future
Many rural hospitals could be forced to close because of cuts to the Critical Access Program and the fact that, according to the National Rural Health Association, , 41 percent of critical-care hospitals are losing money, reports Jenny Gold of Kaiser...
- Natl. Rural Health Assn. President, At Uk, Says Rural Health Cuts Won't Save Money Or Help Communities But Will Eliminate Jobs
Speaking about President Obama's proposed cuts to rural health care Wednesday, Susan Starling was frank about her feelings: "As a CEO of a critical access hospital, I'm very nervous. What do I need to do as a hospital administrator?" she asked...
- Defenders Of Small, Rural Hospitals Take Issue With Study That Found Poor Patient Outcomes
A recent study that concluded small, rural "critical access hospitals" have poorer patient outcomes and lower quality of care is making waves in the medical community. A federally funded monitoring team from three universities issued a response noting...