WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) along
with his colleagues, Sens. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), John
Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) introduced legislation to protect
some rural health clinics in Iowa from a reduction in reimbursement funds. The bipartisan
Rural
Health Clinic Protection Act will fix a technical error that unintentionally
failed to grandfather in rural health clinics established during 2020 into a
new, comprehensive payment system. This legislation will directly impact some
clinics in Iowa including North English Family Medical Clinic and Ottumwa
Family & Internal Medicine Clinic.
“Protecting rural health clinics from payment
reductions ensures Iowans who live in smaller communities continue to have
access to health care when they need it most. As I often remind my fellow
lawmakers in Washington, one-size-fits-all doesn’t always fit all. In too many
cases, rural America gets the short end of the stick,” Grassley said. “Just because some of our new rural health clinics
don’t meet an arbitrary deadline doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be eligible for
the same reimbursement plan as other clinics around the country.”
“Rural health
providers, who already face deep challenges in delivering quality health care
to patients, have been hit especially hard by the pandemic,” Smith said. “It’s clear that we should redouble our
efforts to ensure that small towns and rural communities have access to
the affordable care they need. That's why I'm backing this bipartisan bill to make more rural health
clinics eligible for funding from Medicare.”
“Supporting rural health care
providers—who have offered critical services to Iowans throughout this
pandemic—will continue to be one of my top priorities, both during and long
after COVID-19. After hearing from providers in Iowa who would be negatively
impacted by a legislative error, I’m acting to fix the law so they can continue
to serve Iowans in rural communities across our state,” Ernst said.
“Rural health clinics play a critical role
delivering care in Wyoming,” Barrasso said. “As a doctor, I spent my
career caring for patients from rural communities. This is why I support
commonsense changes to federal law that will help rural health clinics fulfill
their vital mission.”
“In states like West Virginia, rural
health clinics remain a primary health care source for many,” Capito said.
“This bill will make the necessary changes to ensure they are receiving the
funding they need to continue to provide much-needed care now and in the
future.”
“I appreciate Senator Grassley’s
leadership to introduce legislation that will protect the North English Family
Medical Clinic’s reimbursement. The federal rural health clinic program
ensures rural providers are fairly reimbursed. This legislation will help
ensure Iowans in rural communities have access to high quality, health care,” Barry Goettsch, CEO at Compass Memorial said.
“We appreciate Senator Grassley’s leadership to introduce
legislation which will protect the high-quality, personalized care we are able
to provide our patients by ensuring fair reimbursement for the cost of
care. The federal health clinic program ensures rural providers are
fairly reimbursed helping them remain in rural communities,” Matt Johnson,
President, MercyOne Centerville Medical Center said.
In December 2020, Congress passed comprehensive
payment reform for rural health clinics, extended the Rural Community Hospital
Demonstration program, passed comprehensive payment reform for rural health
clinics and secured a new rural emergency hospital designation under Medicare.
The previous law unintentionally failed to
grandfather provider-based rural health clinics established during 2020 into
the new payment system. These changes are necessary to ensure that clinics that
applied to become a rural health clinic as of December 31, 2020 would be
eligible for the updated payment system. The Rural Health Clinic Protection Act corrects this by updating the
provider-based facility grandfather date from December 31, 2019 to December 31,
2020.
As chairman of the Senate Finance
Committee last congressional session, Grassley worked to ensure rural America
wasn’t left behind in the nation’s pandemic response. He fought to boost
payments for doctors, secure critical funding for rural hospitals and expand
coverage for Medicare beneficiaries. This includes mental-health tele-visits,
which are helpful during the pandemic and will remain an important option for
many Americans afterwards.