Chuck Grassley: “Keeping quantity and quality of healthcare in rural America is a constant responsibility of most Senators, because every…”

“Keeping quantity and quality of healthcare in rural America is a constant responsibility of most Senators, because every Senator, even if you come from a high population State, you still have a lot of rural areas. So one of the things that I have been interested in is keeping hospital services available in rural areas, even if they have a hard time keeping their beds as part of their hospital. So, in December 2020, I was proud to sponsor and to pass into law the voluntary rural emergency hospital program under Medicare. CMS implemented this program 3 years later, in 2023. The rural emergency hospital program allows rural hospitals to voluntarily right-size their healthcare infrastructure, while maintaining essential medical services for their rural communities. It gives these hospitals the flexibility to operate without hospital inpatient services, while still retaining a 24/7 emergency department, ambulance services, outpatient services, and more. Today, 42 rural hospitals in 17 States have transitioned to a rural emergency hospital model and, hence, are still operating.”