Protecting Rural Access to Care Act Goes to Congress

Representatives Elisa Stefanik (R-NY) and Antonio Delgado (D-NY), have introduced the Protecting Rural Access to Care Act, legislation to ensure financially vulnerable rural hospitals are not at-risk of losing their Critical Access Hospital (CAH) designation over an administrative policy change. The CAH designation provides hospitals enhanced reimbursement rates to keep essential healthcare services in rural communities. In 2015, the CMS made a policy change that narrows the eligibility criteria for hospitals to certify or recertify as Critical Access Hospitals. Stefanik and Delgado’s legislation seeks to restore the pre-2015 CAH standard.