Max Baucus: “I rise to speak about the rural provisions in the Medicare bill. This bill has a lot of provisions to help rural…”

“I rise to speak about the rural provisions in the Medicare bill. This bill has a lot of provisions to help rural America. I am very proud of these provisions. I also wish to compliment the chairman of the committee, Senator Grassley. Over the last year, he and I have jointly co-authored legislation to address the imbalance in Medicare payments that exists between rural and urban areas of our country. For many rural areas of our country, providing health care services is very challenging given Medicare's current payment rates. In rural America, Medicare often dominates. That is, most hospitals, doctors and other health care providers receive the lion's share of their reimbursements from Medicare. I know that in many communities in Montana, particularly the smallest communities, Medicare accounts for over more than 50 percent of hospitals total reimbursements. Rural hospitals are often the major employer in their communities. It is what makes the small town tick. If it were not for the rural hospital, the population in those towns would deteriorate.”