Addressing Challenges to Rural Health

Nearly one in five Americans, or 62 million people, live in rural and frontier communities. As the representative of one of the most rural Congressional districts in the country and as Chairman of the Congressional Rural Caucus, I am focused on addressing the unique challenges facing rural Americans.

This week I joined health advocates throughout Nebraska and across the country in recognizing National Rural Health Day. Rural hospitals are vital to rural areas. Nebraska’s Third District is home to more than 50 Critical Access Hospitals. These facilities provide critical care to some of the most vulnerable and elderly populations in the country.

This year, rural health care delivery is facing its greatest challenge. Forty-three rural hospitals have closed since 2010; 283 more are on the brink of closure. Because of Obamacare, we are seeing deep cuts to Medicare beneficiaries, a major patient population for these rural facilities.

In addition to cuts to Medicare, rural Nebraskans are facing steep hikes in their insurance premiums due to Obamacare. New data released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirms insurance premiums for the lowest-priced plans on Nebraska’s federally operated Obamacare exchange will increase in every county in Nebraska’s Third Congressional District.

This new data confirms what Nebraskans have told me all along. Obamacare is making health insurance more, not less, expensive and out of reach for hardworking families. The President promised health care premiums would go down under his plan, but history continues to show more government control of the health care system results in higher costs.

To address these problems we need market- and patient-centered solutions to actually reduce costs and expand access to care. This will first require the President and his allies in Congress to acknowledge their law isn’t working as they intended.

Rural hospitals also have to face arbitrary regulations such as physician supervision requirements, and a 96-hour precertification rule. Physician supervision rules require a physician’s presence and supervision over nearly all routine procedures administered in hospitals. The 96-hour rule requires physicians at rural hospitals to certify Medicare and Medicaid patients will not be at the hospital for more than 96 hours. These facilities frequently do not have the resources to abide by these unnecessary regulations while continuing to provide affordable and efficient health care.

I have introduced legislation to address both of these arbitrary regulations. This week, the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health announced it has included the legislative text of both of my bills as part of a larger package of health care reforms. I am hopeful this plan will be considered early next year to provide relief to rural health providers.

I will continue to fight to make sure our rural communities maintain access to quality care, and we address the government imposed burdens to rural health.