Government Affairs News Archive
2006 and Before
NRHA Joins Coalition of 85 Groups Urging Congress to Address SCHIP Funding Shortfalls
A coalition of 85 organizations sent a letter to Congress September 18, 2006 urging lawmakers to enact immediate legislation to help states with federal funding shortfalls for their State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). For the fiscal year starting Oct. 1, 2007, some 17 to 18 states are projected to have insufficient federal SCHIP funding. The total shortfall is an estimated $800 million to $950 million, according to various estimates by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Congressional Research Service, and other sources. Without additional federal funding to avert these shortfalls, states may have to reduce their SCHIP enrollment, placing health insurance coverage for over 500,000 low-income children at risk, and/or have to make other harmful changes to their SCHIP programs like curtailing benefits or reducing provider payments. The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities projects the following states will have insufficient federal funding to sustain their current SCHIP programs: Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakota, Rhode Island and South Dakota.
House Rural Health Coalition Introduces Important Legislation
On Thursday, September 7, 2006, Representative Walden (R-OR) and Pomeroy (D-ND) introduced the Health Care Access and Rural Equity Act (H-CARE) of 2006 (H.R. 6030). Hilda Heady, NRHA’s immediate past president, attended the press conference and spoke on NRHA’s behalf. NRHA was the only outside organization invited to speak at the press conference, which was quite an honor. NRHA worked closely with Congressional staff to develop this sweeping legislation, and NRHA members were very active in seeking the 60 original co-sponsors for the legislation. If your Member of Congress has not signed on yet, please encourage them to do so.
H-CARE incorporates all of the provisions of the Rural Hospital and Provider Equity Act (S. 3500), introduced by the Senate Rural Health Caucus earlier this year. It also extends through 2011 important provisions from the Medicare Modernization Act that addressed long-standing inequities in Medicare. H-CARE builds on these significant efforts by adding many important provisions, including:
- Provides $25 million for quality demonstration projects and $5 million for a Rural Health Quality Advisory Commission over five years, consistent with the recommendation of the Institute of Medicine.
- Ensures that rural Americans are appropriately represented on the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission by requiring that rural representation on MedPAC be proportional to the number of rural beneficiaries on Medicare.
- Creates a Rural Community Hospital (RCH) program, providing Medicare cost-based reimbursement for inpatient and outpatient services for hospitals with 50 or fewer beds.
- Requires that Medicare Advantage plans pay Critical Access Hospitals 101 percent of their costs.
- Authorizes $20 to $30 million annually for grants to rural providers to help with the cost of implementing health information technology.
- Mandates prompt payment to rural pharmacies by Medicare prescription drug plans.
- Reauthorizes the Rural Outreach and Network grants.
- Allows cost-based reimbursement to Critical Access Hospitals for clinical lab services provided outside the hospital, such as in nursing homes.
NRHA Past President Hilda Heady speaks at the press conference.
Click Here to see a list of current co-sponsors.
Read NRHA's Letter of Endorsement for the Bill
NRHA's Alan Morgan Presents Recommendations to Medicaid Commission
NRHA CEO Alan Morgan recently joined with other members of the Partnership for Medicaid to present the Partnership's recommendations to the Medicare Commission. Recommendations included steps to improve health care quality, enhance prevention efforts, encourage disease management, and control pharmaceutical costs. Specific recommendations mentioned were extension of the 340B drug discount to Critical Access Hospitals and assistance with health information technology costs for safety net providers.
Read the full report from the Medicaid Partnership
NRHA Calls For Conrad 30 Reauthorization
NRHA joined with the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health (NOSORH), National Association of Rural Health Clinics (NARHC), and the Rural Recruitment & Retention Network (3R Net) in calling for an immediate and straightforward reauthorization of the Conrad State 30 Program (Conrad 30).
Read NRHA's letter to the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.
NRHA Testifies on Health Care for Rural Veterans
NRHA recently submitted testimony to the house committee on veterans affairs on health care for rural veterans, Click Here to download a PDF of the NRHA Testimony (138k); click below to download a Powerpoint presentation entitled:
Rural Veterans: A Special Concern for Rural Health Advocates (4.2MB)
State Specific Rural Grant Funding Amounts
NRHA Partners with National Consensus Meeting on EMS Clinical Performance Indicators
In June, 2005, the National Rural Health Association participated in a one-day session to form the EMS industry’s pilot set of clinical performance indicators. Partners in this endeavor included the North Central EMS Institute, the National Rural Health Resource Center, the Rural EMS & Trauma Technical Assistance Center, the National EMS Management Association and the American Ambulance Association. For more information on the outcomes of this meeting, click here.
Stay Abreast of the Changes and Status of the Medicare Prescription Drug Program
As details become available on the new Medicare Prescription Drug Program, NRHA brings you information on the changes being proposed by Congress, as well as information on your benefits under the plan. Also listed are sources of information and NRHA Partnering Organizations which can help you gain access to these important benefits. [Click Here]
