Health News
- Older Rural Residents Are More Likely To Seek Care At Rural Hospitals, National Study Finds
Rural hospitals are more likely to serve older patients seeking hospitalization, while younger rural residents seek medical care in urban areas, says a study by the National Center for Health Statistics at the federal Centers for Disease Control....
- 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...
- Rural Hospital Coalition Urges Congress To Spare Medicare Programs That Shore Up Rural Health Care
A coalition of rural hospitals are lobbying Congress to keep two Medicare programs that the National Rural Health Association says are vital to keep hundreds of smaller hospitals going. The Medicare Dependent Hospital designation and the Low-Volume Hospital...
- 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...
- Rural Emergency Rooms Frequented By The Poor And Uninsured
A new report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that low-income adults accounted for 56 percent of the 8 million rural emergency room visits in 2008. In nonrural hospitals, low-income adults accounted for only 30 percent...
Health News
Rural hospitals in Kentucky say health reform will hurt them
Though the new national health-care law may increase the number of insured Americans by 32 million, rural hospitals in Kentucky aren't expecting a revenue windfall. That's because half of the people who will be newly covered will be Medicaid patients, "who have been big losers for hospitals in cash-strapped states where Medicaid payments do not cover costs," The New York Times' Milt Freudenheim reports.
"We should repeal it all and start over," said Milton Brooks, administrator of Pineville Community Hospital. "Most hospitals are barely breaking even. When you take a couple of million dollars out of our pocketbooks, we're gone." The Kentucky Hospital Association has said the law will cost its hospitals $1.28 billion over 10 years because of "reduced Medicaid payments for more Medicaid patients as well as lower federal payments to make up for losses," Freudenheim reports. The KHA is not calling for repeal, but is asking for some changes to the law.
Some major national players support the new health care law, including the American Hospital Association, the Catholic Health Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, the National Association of Children's Hospitals and the Association of American Medical Colleges. (Read more)
- Older Rural Residents Are More Likely To Seek Care At Rural Hospitals, National Study Finds
Rural hospitals are more likely to serve older patients seeking hospitalization, while younger rural residents seek medical care in urban areas, says a study by the National Center for Health Statistics at the federal Centers for Disease Control....
- 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...
- Rural Hospital Coalition Urges Congress To Spare Medicare Programs That Shore Up Rural Health Care
A coalition of rural hospitals are lobbying Congress to keep two Medicare programs that the National Rural Health Association says are vital to keep hundreds of smaller hospitals going. The Medicare Dependent Hospital designation and the Low-Volume Hospital...
- 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...
- Rural Emergency Rooms Frequented By The Poor And Uninsured
A new report from the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality shows that low-income adults accounted for 56 percent of the 8 million rural emergency room visits in 2008. In nonrural hospitals, low-income adults accounted for only 30 percent...